Penalties to be Toughened for Drug Possession, Production, and Trafficking

During the second reading period, I have coordinated with the government and propose to further tighten the penalties planned for drug trafficking. This was stated by MP Hayk Sargsyan from the "Civil Contract" faction during the National Assembly session while presenting the draft laws on amendments to the RA Criminal Code, as well as amendments to the RA Administrative Offenses Code.

“In cases of drug trafficking in large quantities or through information technologies, I propose to set a penalty of up to 10 years. In cases of particularly large quantities or involving minors, or drug trafficking with a minor, I propose to set a penalty of up to 15 years. If according to current legislation, selling drugs via Telegram channels carries a penalty of only 3-6 years, then this draft toughens the penalty to a range of 5-10 years. Moreover, if current legislation stipulates a 3-6 year penalty for selling drugs to minors, this draft proposes a penalty of 8-15 years,” the MP stated.

“I also recommend tightening the penalties regarding drug cultivation, production, acquisition, or possession for personal use by establishing fines of up to 20 times the current amount instead of 10 times, and increasing the term of imprisonment from 1 year to 2 years. For acquiring drugs in large quantities or through information technologies, I propose to increase the fine from 10-30 times to 20-40 times, and raise the imprisonment term from 2 years to 4 years. For cases involving minors or acquiring particularly large quantities of drugs, I propose to set the imprisonment term from 2-5 years to 3-6 years,” the MP added.

It is also proposed to double the fine for producing, preparing, acquiring, or possessing drugs in small quantities for personal use from 200-400 thousand drams to 400-800 thousand drams. In the event of a repeat offense within a year, it is proposed to increase the penalty from 400-800 thousand drams to between 800 thousand and 1.6 million drams.

Accompanying reporter, MP Lilit Minasyan from the "Civil Contract" faction noted that the draft aims to strengthen sanctions and prevent crime, but also emphasized that the state’s toolkit should work to prevent types of drugs from entering the borders.