State Duma Deputy Yaroslav Nilov has submitted a draft law proposing amendments to the Federal Law No. 61-FZ of April 12, 2010, "On Circulation of Medicinal Products."
Article 46 of the document is proposed to be supplemented with point 13, which contains instructions for the use of medications prohibited when operating a vehicle. Such instructions must include:
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An image of the prohibitory traffic sign "No Entry" (in color or black and white);
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Information about the presence in the medication of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, and their precursors subject to control on the territory of the Russian Federation;
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Information about the period during which these substances remain in the human body, during which it is prohibited to operate a vehicle.
As stated in the explanatory note, the document has been developed due to a “paradoxical situation” in which “law-abiding citizens who take medications containing substances banned for consumption while driving are brought to administrative responsibility.” Examples provided include medications such as "Corvalol," "Valocordin," "Pentalgin-N," "Valoserdin," and "Valoferin," which contain phenobarbital, as well as "Solpadeine," "Nurofen Plus," "Caffetin," "Sedalgin-Neo," and "Terpinkod," which contain codeine.
“It is indicated in the explanatory note that the majority of citizens of our country, taking medications either by prescription or over-the-counter, do not know and cannot know that certain medications contain narcotic or psychotropic substances whose use is incompatible with driving a vehicle, since in the event of testing, this will result in the driver being held liable under Article 12.8 of the Russian Administrative Offenses Code,” the note states.
If approved, the amendments will come into effect on September 1, 2026.
Source: Pharmaceutical VESTNIK
