Criminal responsibility of medical workers for ispensing narcotic drugs to reduce the suffering of patients

Abstract

Purposes: This article is devoted to the analysis of the problem that has been developed in the Russian Federation with the access of patients with severe pain to narcotic painkillers. Methodology: The legislation of the Russian Federation recognizes that patients have an unconditional right to pain relief, which is reflected in the Federal Law No. 323 dated November 21, 2011 “On the Basics of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation”. However, the procedural rules governing the receipt of narcotic painkillers by patients establish strict bureaucratic rules that impede the timely access of patients to the only effective narcotic drugs i n their case. Results: Deviation from these procedural rules threatens medical and pharmaceutical workers with criminal liability for illegal drug trafficking. As a result, Russian patients do not receive painkillers on a significant scale. The quality of life in the patient, who is forced to endure severe pain, is significantly reduced, which often leads to suicide. Various legislative solutions to this problem are proposed. Implications/Applications: Liberalization of the rules for dispensing narcotic painkillers are effective in the long term, but it has several problems. Slight liberalization is not able to fundamentally improve the situation of patients with severe pain. Novelty/Originality: Significant liberalization can create a negative narcotic situation due to market saturation with legal narcotic drugs. In the short term, an effective measure will be the exclusion of the criminal liability of medical and pharmaceutical workers for the prescription and dispensing narcotic painkillers to patients with severe pain syndrome in violation of the existing procedural rules, but for medical reasons.