Russian Presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak said cannabis legalization is a necessary step to reduce the drug epidemic in the country.

“I don’t really understand why drinking vodka in enormous quantities is considered normal in our country, but using marijuana is not, though it has far fewer consequences, even from the perspective of crime statistics,” Sobchak told The Moscow Times.

Sobchak’s beliefs are a wide stretch from the current administration’s beliefs, with harsh laws against  drug and cannabis use. Russian hospitals have known to turn away drug users in critical times of need.

Andrei Khrapov, chief of narcotics control for Russia’s Interior Ministry, said the government is skeptical whether cannabis legalization would have any benefits or effects on the country’s narcotic epidemic.

However, research does show a reversal in opioid-related deaths in Colorado since cannabis was legalized, with over a six percent decrease.

The country’s heroin epidemic is so huge it led to a spike in HIV cases with recent reports of over 1 million cases, half of which are estimated to have resulted from intravenous drug use like using or sharing infected needles for heroin use.

Though Sobchak’s strategy might succeed to decrease the narcotic situation in Russia, her winning the presidential election seems highly unlikely after winning less than only 1 percent support in a nation poll.

With France ready to soften their harsh laws against cannabis use after seeing high cannabis consumption rates, let’s see it Russia will follow suit.

The election is set to take place in March and Putin is expected to win re-election.