Number of drug addicts jumps

Alcohol abuse in Russia has often been considered by the West to be the main health problem over the years. However, just 16 years after the ill-fated crusade by Mikhail Gorbachev against the high domestic rate of vodka and wine consumption, the number of drug addicts in Moscow and throughout the country apparently exceeds the number of alcoholics.

Official statistics show that in Moscow alone, 17,000 people are officially registered as drug addicts, and the number increases by 4,000-5,000 annually.

"The official figure though is considerably lower [than the actual number of addicts]. The real number of drug addicts is at least 120,000. According to the World Health Organisation, one in ten Muscovites uses or has used drugs," Yevgeny Brun, chief state expert for narcology told The Moscow Tribune this week.

Domestic analysts believe that the actual number of addicts in Moscow is about 120,000, while international experts believe the number of addicts is 850,000.

The main problem doctors face is that it is extremely difficult to monitor drug addiction in the early stages. Addiction usually does not become obvious until the illness has grown worse, often too late to for complete recovery, Brun said.

According to Brun, heroin and marijuana are currently the drugs of choice among Muscovites. In 2000, in Moscow 16 children under 14-years old died from overdoses. Doctors say without immediate attention, this figure will dramatically increase.

The majority of drug pushers in large cities are children under the age of 14, because they cannot be prosecuted. Homeless children may be detained, but others are returned to their families.

"The price of a daily dose has decreased dramatically since the early 1990s, when it cost approximately 25 times more than a bottle of vodka. Today there is little difference in price [between a dose of heroin and a bottle of vodka]," Brun said.

Last year, 380,000 people applied for drug-related medical help. And about 2,300 died as from overdoses. However, only a small percentage of those who regularly take narcotics get medical assistance due to both economic reasons and fear from trouble with the police. While the use of drugs is legal, possession and drug dealing is illegal.

According to Interior Ministry statistics, 3.5 million are drug addicts, three times more that in the early 1990s, and there are currently 2.9 million alcoholics. However, independent studies have shown the actual number of drug addicts may be close to 5 million, with the number of those who have tried drugs being twice that.

Moscow and St Petersburg are most affected by drug trafficking. According to the Interior Ministry, 27 of the 89 regions were registered as having a high level of drug use last year.

According to the chief of the anti-drugs department for the Interior Ministry, Alexander Sergeyev, the police have reported a large increase in the number of drug-related crimes, particularly heroin. In Moscow, heroin is involved in almost 90 per cent of reported drug related crimes.

"During 2000, we confiscated six times more heroin than in the previous year. The majority of drugs come from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the former Soviet Asia," said Sergeyev.

Heroin from Asia is sold in Moscow for about $30-$40 per gram, while international price is around $150.