MOSCOW. (Pyotr Goncharov for RIA Novosti) - Before rising for recess, the Federation Council came up with a new initiative: to introduce life imprisonment for wholesale drug dealers. The question was discussed at a meeting between the house's top leadership and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

According to First Deputy Speaker Alexander Torshin, as many as 30,000 young lives are snuffed out in Russia by narcotics annually, or an average of 80 a day. These are people in the prime of life: from 18 to 39 years old. Official statistics show Russia today counts between 2 million and 2.5 million drug addicts.

The Russian drug mafia takes advantage of national anti-narcotic legislation, which is inadequate. Indeed, as Senator Torshin says, what do they have to fear? The worst that can happen to drug barons is that they die of laughter when reading the Criminal Code's section on the distribution and sale of drugs.

The senator explained that an incident involving narcotics weighing more than 2.5 grams is considered a major crime. The absence of other weight criteria in determining the degree of public menace from drug-related crimes results in that the punishment for selling 2.5 grams of heroin is the same as for selling 10 kg or 100 kg of the same narcotic. So bulk traders are put on the same footing with street dealers and, when punished, serve the same or even shorter sentences, or none at all.

Hence there is a need to introduce in legislation an additional qualifying proviso for wholesale dealers, one that provides for harsher punishment for the distribution and sales of drugs in particularly large amounts, starting with 15 years and up to life imprisonment.

We certainly wish Alexander Torshin every success. His proposals go beyond introducing long sentences. He has made a close study of the problem, going back to its deepest roots, which stretch to Afghanistan. Torshin is the first Russian of his rank to say that in dealing with Afghan narcotics (more than 90% of opiates in Russia are made in Afghanistan) Russia has to count only on itself and its legislation, its law enforcement agencies, and so on.

Why is that? Take a look at the recent joint statement by the Russian and U.S. presidents on Afghanistan, which contained an unexpected emphasis on the Afghan drugs. The statement is no declaration, but a program of action that works: both countries are set to pursue further the anti-narcotic project under the aegis of the Russia-NATO Council.

This means that it is the first time that the United States has agreed with Moscow, - which had repeatedly raised the issue of narcotics in Afghanistan, and always in the context of the U.S. military presence there. What indeed is the United States doing there if opium poppy is grown freely under its very nose?

The concession is substantive. In its day, Donald Rumsfeld, former U.S. secretary of defense, had the following attitude to the problem: if Afghan opium growers are financed by Russia and Europe (through which it transits), let them fight it. But times change, and it appears that without Russia the Afghan issue is not so simple to resolve, neither in general nor in regard to opium.

But how can it be resolved? There are only two known methods of effectively dealing with opium where it is produced. The first involves force, or destruction of poppy plantations, and second, decriminalization of opium. So far, the attempts at using force have had little effect in Afghanistan. It is clear that the force methods used by ISAF, NATO and the U.S. will not work in Afghanistan. The national parliaments will not permit them because the effort will call for more human resources and funds.

So what is the way out? Could decriminalization be a better option? At least, production will be under control, and a contribution will be made to public coffers. But outside the Afghan borders, more serious efforts will be needed than now, including life sentences for drug dealers.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.