Russian teens to be tested for drugs at school

(AFP PHOTO ANTONIO SCORZA)

Russian teenagers will be tested for drugs during their regular medical examinations at school, Russia's anti-narcotics agency chief said Wednesday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed the mandatory drug screenings last month, warning that addiction was a threat to national security.

"We are not shocked when we draw blood to test the level of white or red blood cells," the head of the anti-drugs agency, Viktor Ivanov, told a news conference.

The drug test "will be just one more analysis, that's it," he said. The results will then be given to the parents.

Medvedev said last month experts estimate that between 2.0 and 2.5 million people use drugs in Russia.

"The greatest danger is that two thirds of them are young people, less than 30 years old," the Russian president said at the time.