Russia's new wave drug addicts disconcert old guard

AFP ^ | 10/25/01 | Agence France Presse

[Migraine]

Wow. 3 Million. This is like nuclear vodka. Drugs suck. Sounds pretty laissez-faire there, though, for those who think that's the way to go.

[Migraine]

Get hammered, stay hammered. No more sickle, though. Boy, this is sad.

[BlackJack]

Why in the world do people do hard drugs???? Its NUTZ!

[Hillary 666]

A gramme of heroin in Russia's second city costs around 1,000 rubles, or 33 dollars.

Russia now has some three million drug addicts consuming more than a billion dollars worth of illicit drugs every year

Check my math, but that would mean (I think) that the average drug addict only spends $333.33 a year on drugs. The one billion dollar figure has to be way low unless I'm looking at the numbers wrong.

[AGAviator]

Many of these drugs are coming by way of the "Northern Alliance"

[AGAviator]

"Saint Petersburg lies on one of the main routes for drugs emanating from Central Asia, particularly from Afghanistan transiting via Tajikistan, heading for western Europe"

[JMJ333]

Drugs suck. Sounds pretty laissez-faire there, though, for those who think that's the way to go.

No no no...everything is relative, therefore drugs only suck to YOU.

And if everything is subjective, when I say what happened on Sept. 11 was a terrorist attack it is only an attack to ME. To Osama it was a religious act! See how it works! It is open for interpretation because nothing is concrete and truth is in the eye of the beholder!

/s

[AGAviator]

that would mean (I think) that the average drug addict only spends $333.33 a year on drugs

There's a lot less to steal in Russia than there is in the West, and a per capita montly income of $100 is considered being well off.

Your name definitely makes my Top 10.

[Migraine]

no...everything is relative, therefore drugs only suck to YOU. Ah, so...I have see the light.

[Migraine]

italics off

[PoorMuttly]

No supply = ex-drug addicts. When Afghanistan is closed, so is the drug store.

[Migraine]

No supply = ex-drug addicts. When Afghanistan is closed, so is the drug store.

That is a sanguine prospect. So there is hope. I hate despair. Russia needs a dose of hope. I want it for them. Just think of the outstanding physical resources they have. What if they actually took their place alongside the whirring economies of the world, and contributed to the world's standard of living. That's how it should be. John Lennon should have "imagined" that.

[A CA Guy]

Hey ADDICT WARRIORS, here is the future you wish to be part of. Learn by watching others mistakes and take responsibility for yourself. Stay sober!

[TigerLikesRooster]

Apparently, many young Russians who do not have way out from their daily miseries(college education or study in abroad, etc), eventually give up on their lives. They live from day to day for highs of drug and thrill of taking dirty one. This is another form of Russian Roulette. Sooner or later, everybody dies or is permanently disabled. Usually, this is a fertile recruiting ground for killer mercenaries. They are not afraid of death as long as they get daily dose of thrills.

[JMJ333]

Why in the world do people do hard drugs???? Its NUTZ!

To escape reality. Oh wait...there is no reality...nevermind.

[Migraine]

Apparently, many young Russians who do not have way out from their daily miseries(college education or study in abroad, etc), eventually give up on their lives.

Tiger, you write as if you are fairly close to the situation. Please elaborate. Interesting about the mercenary part. Are they reliable, though, if they're strung out? Or is that what you meant? I'm intrigued by your reply.

[PoorMuttly]

...but where will their handlers get it from...and, I would not rely on a junky to do a big, hard job anyway. Maybe the head of the Luftwaffe could pull it off, but unless you need to tape a bomb to a wasted potential traitor, there are better sources for mercenaries. People in New York know that the junkies do not come out much when it's raining, or real cold and windy. Somehow, I have a hard time worrying about a whole lot of heroin-addict tough-guys accomplishing much of anything before their energy runs out, and they start crying, and yelling at eachother.

[AGAviator]

The "Afghanistan" you're speaking of is the part controlled by our new friends, the "Northern Alliance." In the Taliban-controlled areas there was an unprecedented drop in opium cultivation this last year, which even the communists were never able to accomplish.

You're also not factoring in different Central Asian countries, our other new friends, to cultivate opium on their own. There's no reason why it has to be grown in just Afghanistan. The entire Central Asian region from Tajikistan to Afghanistan to Iran to Turkey, is all capable of producing many tons of the drug. That's millions of square miles of territory.

[TigerLikesRooster]

People who are far-gone in their habits are not useful, I think. But those who are starting or not hard-core can be candidates, I guess. I guess they may not serve for many years. But during the time they are productive, they could do some high risk tasks. Especially if a dosage of their pet drug can be given before battle. Some African tribes do that, too.

People in despair have very short time horizon. Many just live for a day. If they get a lot more stuff than usual, they will consume it all in a single day and do not plan for even tomorrow.