Pubdate: Wed, 29 Nov 2000
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 2000 Associated Press
Author: Jim Heintz, Associated Press Writer

RISING DRUG ADDICTION WORRIES RUSSIA

MOSCOW (AP) - Drug use in Russia is spreading so rapidly that the Kremlin 
regards it as a threat to national security, the head of the Russian 
Security Council, said Wednesday.

The rate of drug-related crimes has risen 14-fold over the past decade, 
with more than 200,000 such crimes registered in the past year, Sergei 
Ivanov said at a national drugs conference held at Danilov Monastery, the 
seat of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Some 4 million of 145 million Russians use drugs and about half are 
considered addicts, Public Health Minister Yuri Shevchenko said.

``The president of Russia and the Security Council he chairs consider the 
problem of the spreading and using of drugs in the category of a direct 
threat to the national security of the state because of its long-term 
consequences,'' Ivanov said.

Under President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites), Russia has developed a 
broader concept of national security and has indicated increasing 
willingness to address perceived security threats from abroad.

Much of the narcotics used in Russia are believed to come from the former 
Soviet republics in Central Asia, especially Tajikistan.

Russia accuses insurgents in the region, believed to be trained in 
Afghanistan, of taking part in drug trafficking.

At a conference Tuesday in Kyrgyzstan, Russian Interior Ministry official 
Alexander Sergeyev said heroin use was spiraling because prices had fallen 
as low as $10 a gram. In contrast, authorities had said 53 pounds of heroin 
seized in February in the town of Chelyabinsk had a street value of $1.65 
million, which would make the price at that time about $70 a gram.
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