KAZAN, July 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's chief sanitary doctor upheld Friday the Moscow mayor's initiative to make students take drug tests.

Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov said Tuesday a law should be drafted to introduce obligatory drug testing for Moscow students. According to the local drug control department, this year there are 29,000 registered drugs addicts, a 1,000 less than last year, with 70% of them being underage.

"Most importantly, the tests should not be followed by repressions and persecutions of students," Gennady Onishchenko said.

Onishchenko said the aim was not to detect drug addiction among students, but to ensure proper treatment.

It is also important to find an efficient way of treating drug use ensuring that patients undergo a full course of treatment, he said.