Police in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, detained a 38-year-old local man in mid-October on suspicion of illegal drug circulation.[1] The detention took place near one of the city’s stadiums, and the police said the man had no previous convictions.[1] A personal search found a paper wrap containing plant material, which police seized.[1]

A laboratory examination identified the contents as marijuana weighing 0.18 grams in total.[1] The man told officers he had kept the drug for his own use and had carried it in his clothing.[2]

Officers drew up an administrative protocol against him under part 1 of article 6.8 of the Administrative Code, which covers acquiring, storing, transporting, making or processing drugs without intent to sell.[1] That offence carries a fine of up to 5,000 roubles or administrative arrest of up to 15 days.[1] The drug was seized and the man was made subject to an administrative protocol, the regional police said.[3]

The regional police statement also said that carrying banned substances leads to immediate detention, liability, registration at a drug-treatment dispensary and loss of the right to drive.[1] The case came from the press service of the Nizhny Novgorod regional interior ministry directorate on information from the Dzerzhinsk city police department.[1] The Dzerzhinsk television site attributed the account to the regional interior ministry’s press service.[4]