Flood Of Afghan Heroin Fuels Drug Plague In Russia

From McClatchy News:

CHELYABINSK, Russia — Young men with sores on their arms shuffled up the stairs of a dark, underground shopping arcade and into the daylight to plop dingy wads of rubles into the drug dealers' hands. The dealers casually reached into their pockets or plastic shopping bags and handed over tablets of synthetic morphine, a type also used as a horse tranquilizer, and paper packets that appeared to contain heroin.

Across the street in this gray, post-Soviet industrial town, two Russian policemen sat in a faded wooden booth, and a couple more sat in a police truck outside. They didn't seem the least bit interested.

A police officer walked by but didn't interrupt the transaction. Asked whether he was worried, one of the dealers, a young man with a white driving cap tipped down over his eyes, leaned back against a railing and giggled.

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My Comment: I have seen these changes in the past 16 years, especially in Moscow. The Russian drug of choice was always alcoholism .... until now. Heroin addiction is now prevalent everywhere, and it does not discriminate according to status or ethnic background. Cocaine has not made any inroads yet, but (I am sure) that this will change as more Russians start to travel to the West and the Americas.