Moscow raises drug penalties and orders republican codes to follow

The USSR Presidium's decree of 25 April 1974 raised drug trafficking to up to ten years, with six to fifteen years for repeat, group or large-scale cases. Possession without intent to sell carried up to three years, while small amounts and drug use were administrative matters. The decree ordered the union republics to bring their criminal codes into line, so the Georgian code applied in Abkhazia was affected. It also introduced compulsory treatment and set up to five years for growing prohibited poppy and hemp varieties.^[1]