The Effects of Drug User Registration Laws on People’s Rights and Health. Key Findings from Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine

Recent research has revealed that drug user registration laws in the former Soviet Union unfairly restrict the civil rights of drug users and impede their access to drug treatment. These laws, legacies of Soviet-era legislation emphasizing control over cure, also create conditions conducive to police corruption and abuse. This report, from the Open Society Institute’s International Harm Reduction Development Program, presents the findings of three groundbreaking studies conducted in Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine that investigate the impact that drug user registration laws have on the lives of drug users and the quality of public health policy. (Thanks to the Canadian International Development Agency for their support of this project).