MOSCOW, December 28 - RAPSI. Drug addict compulsory treatment is not applied in the developed countries, Yevgeny Krupitsky, head of narcology department at the St. Petersburg Psychoneurological Research Institute said during a video-conference link between Moscow and St. Petersburg arranged by RIA Novosti.

The Health Ministry proposes to pass a law on compulsory medical treatment for drug addicts, regardless of whether they have previous criminal record or not. Chief narcologist of Russia Yevgeny Bryun, who supports the idea, said the law could save many drug addicts who are unable to control themselves in an addictive state.

Federal Drug Control Service head Viktor Ivanov earlier said the parliament may adopt a law on criminal responsibility for drug taking in public places by spring 2012.

There are no successful examples of addict compulsory treatment up to date, Krupitsky said.

Krupitsky said drug addicts should undergo drug tests every week so that the special monitoring group can monitor their health state and remission progress.

Ivanov shared Krupitsky's idea, saying that only 2 percent out of a million of addicts who asked for medical treatment can truly recover from drug addiction. He also alleged that the existing addict treatment model is ineffective.