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On June 19, 2009, Vietnam National Assembly has approved the amendment of the Penal Code, which among other things (e.g. limit the death sentencing)removes ofPenal Code's article 199 which made unsuccessfully detoxified drug users criminals.
The Penal Code's article 199 "Crimeof illegal use ofnarcotic substance"read: "1. A person, who uses illegally narcoticsubstance in any form,has been educated many times and has administratively beenpunished by sending to mandatory treatment institution but continues to use illegally narcotic substance will be imprisoned from 3 months to 2 years. 2. Those whorepeat of this offense will be imprisoned from 2 years to 5 years".
The government's proposal to the National Assembly presented 3 justifications for the decriminalization of drug use: 1) the Drug Law Amendment (2008) considers drugaddicts as patients, as victim of drug other than criminals; 2) it is awkward to see drugaddicts who fail mandatory drug treatment as criminals, at the same time it is more humane to consider drug users as patientsor victim; and 3) the 3 internationalconventions on drug, to which Vietnamis a signatory, do not required the signatory states to criminalize drug use.
The evaluation report by theNational Assembly's Legislation Commissionsupported the government'sproposal, citingDrug Law Amendment, which considers drug addictsas patients, and does not impose criminalsentencing to drugaddicts. The Commission also considered that theillegal use of drug is not so dangerous to the society thatcriminal conviction is needed.
While this is a good news for those who advocate for a less punitive policy, drug users in Vietnam are not very excited about the news, knowing thatthe government decree on post-rehabilitation managementis on the way. In the draft version of the decree,many drug users who have finished their time ina drug rehabilitation center will besent toinstitutionalized post-rehabilitation management for 1 to 2 years if they meet one of thecriteria set out in the decree.Many drug users prefer to be sent to prison other than drug rehab center. There was an estimation that 94,000 drug users are now rehab centers across the country.
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HAIVN (Chương trình AIDS của Đại học Y Harvard tại Việt Nam) là một nỗ lực hợp tác quốc tế nhằm tăng cường công tác đào tạo về HIV/AIDS cho bác sĩ và công việc chăm sóc bệnh nhân tại Việt Nam. Phương hướng hoạt động của HAIVN là hợp tác, linh hoạt và bền vững.
