NCJ Number
142276
Date Published
Unknown
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Drug abuse and trafficking are increasing rapidly in Russia and other republics in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). According to official figures, about 5.5 million people in the former Soviet Union have used drugs at least once; the rate of adolescent addiction in Moscow was recorded at 16.5 percent in 1991.
Abstract
Factors which have contributed to the rise in drug use in Russia include a natural base for drug production, lack of adequate border controls, the rapidly growing phenomenon of money laundering in the private sector, and lack of modern drug control facilities. While opium and cannabis are traditionally the most commonly abused drugs in the CIS, 1991 saw the rising use of other drugs including heroin, cocaine, and synthetic substances. Most drugs are transported into Russia from middle Asian Transcaucasian republics and Afghanistan. There are some indications the Russian mafia may join forces with the international drug mafia centered in Italy to export the cheaper, Russian-produced drugs. The attractiveness of using Russia as a corridor for pipelining drugs into Europe and the U.S. has been enhanced by stricter law enforcement in Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania and by the continuing conflict in the former Yugoslavia. The number of drug smuggling cases has increased dramatically; in 1991, a new Customs Code gives law enforcement agencies the right to carry out controlled delivery operations in cooperation with foreign authorities.