Kazakhstan: Age of Criminal Responsibility for Drug Crimes Will Not Be Lowered

Kazakhstan has no plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility for drug-related offenses, Orda.kz reports.

The announcement was made by Bakhytzhan Amirkhanov, Deputy Head of the Department for Combating Drug Crime. According to him, 61 minors were detained in the first nine months of this year, including 40 college students and 10 schoolchildren found involved in drug stash activities.

Criminal liability begins at age 16. For drug distribution, liability also begins at age 16. If society is proposing to lower the age to 13, it’s probably a few individuals. But this applies to particularly serious crimes. Specifically, for drug trafficking, the age limit begins at age 16,
 Amirkhanov explained.

He added that amendments to the Criminal Code adopted last year increased penalties for drug production, which can now result in life imprisonment.

In 2025, authorities identified 16 organized crime groups, opened 20 criminal cases, detained 60 individuals, and seized over 950 kilograms of drugs.

Original Author: Artyom Volkov