Kratom in Russia

Known for its draconian attitude towars drugs and other substances in general, Russia controls them through the Main Directorate for Drugs Control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, known also as GUKON, a law enforcement agency and the Russian Drugs police. They are responsible mainly for the regulation of narcotics and investigation of drug crimes.

The Directorate is part of the Public Security Service of the MVD. The Directorate (abbreviated as GUKON) has a jurisdiction overall Russia.

Like FSKN before, the Directorate tasks are combating drug smuggling and use within the Russian Federation. Not only is the GUKON the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act, sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Security Service (FSB), it also has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing Russian drug investigations abroad.

According to academic studies, the problematic Russian drug policy has improved over the last few years: HTA has been developed, rules for the pricing of drugs and cost-containment methods have been established, and registries of patients have been created. The reimbursement system in Russia is different from the ones in Western Europe and consists of a few programs: reimbursement for specific categories of citizens, vital and essential drug list, list of 24 orphan diseases, list of 7 nosologies, and other programs, depending on region. Financing for drug provision in Russia is divided into 2 levels: federal and regional. There is still a lack of transparency and equality in healthcare as well as huge differences in access to healthcare, depending on region.

The healthcare system in Russia is considered inefficient and needs improvement. Changes have been made; for example, there are attempts to implement HTA at federal and regional levels.