Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it. ~Author Unknown
With an estimated 2 million drug addicts in Russia – about one in 50 adults – the country is finally admitting it has a serious problem.
“The goal is not to help people suffering with addiction, but to identify them, and then punish them. No country in the world has ever been able to deal with its drug problems in this way,” said Dasha Ocheret, of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network in Moscow.
One activist says that the culture stifles serious debate about the problems of addiction and demonizes users. This is a major reason why addicts do not get treatment in Russia. Needle exchange programs are not given support and therefore, heroin use is the catalyst for the spread of HIV and hepatitis.