Teenage schoolchildren in Moscow will be tested for drug use this spring on a voluntary basis despite the opposition of some parents, the city administration announced on Friday.
Russia's chief narcologist, Yevgeny Bryun, said earlier that almost 10-15% of Moscow schoolchildren had tried drugs.
The ruling United Russia party, which has 32 of 35 seats in the Moscow City legislature, has drawn up a law to use routine medical checks to test schoolchildren and students on a voluntary basis for the use of alcohol and drugs.
"By the end of March, voluntary drug and alcohol tests will be tried at some Moscow schools as part of regular medical checks," an official in the city administration said, adding that parents would be heavily involved in the process.
MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti)
