Legalize Belarus

An education and advocacy movement for a more humane and effective drug policy in Belarus — co-founded in August 2017 by a group of lawyers, journalists, programmers, students, and activists based in Minsk.

The Problem

Over 10,000 Belarusians are estimated to be behind bars for non-violent drug-related offences. Article 328 of the Criminal Code mandates a minimum of 2 years imprisonment for possession of any amount of a controlled substance. Criminal liability begins at age 14. The acquittal rate in drug cases is virtually zero — 0.045% (1 out of 2,191 cases in 2019). Products legal in most countries — such as hemp tea — fall into the same legal category as heroin. In penal colonies, inmates are forced to labour for the state for free.

The state provides no effective harm reduction programmes. The fear of disproportionate punishment deters people in life-threatening situations from seeking professional help. The existing policy violates basic human rights, marginalises a vulnerable population, fuels intolerance, blocks access to medical care, and counterintuitively foments crime, corruption, and new designer drugs.

Our Vision

Legalize Belarus pursues a change in public attitude towards people who use drugs. We believe society benefits from being better informed about the real properties of controlled substances, their history, potential risks, and harm reduction methods. People who acquired disorders due to drug use deserve compassion and support — not criminalisation.

We contend that the state should exclude possession of small amounts from the criminal code, develop a meaningful harm reduction policy, and make drugs capable of treating clinical conditions available to those in need.

Strategy