- Details
- Category: News
- Published: 15 August 2011
At ECAD Mayors´ conference in Varna this May, Mr. Roland Simon, head of Unit for Interventions, best practices and scientific partners at EMCDDA, spoke of recent reports from UNODC and several other studies that had indicated Russian and Ukrainian opiod problems were above the European average. EU average is around 4 cases per 1000 population aged 15 - 64, in the Ukraine it is 10-13 cases, in Russia - 16 cases per 1000 people. Millions of Russians are estimated to be addicted to illicit drugs. In 2009, 100 000 drug-related deaths were reported.
ECAD observed and took part in Russian drug policy developments for years thanks to many project contacts with drug enforcement, treatment facilities and NGOs, particularly in St.Petersburg, where ECAD representation in Russia was active. While Russian parliamentarians were focusing on improving an obsolete legal framework of the 90-ies in order to adjust drug policy to the actual situation, many private actors worked with drug addicts in the streets. One of the oldest and most successful turned out to be addiction treatment community New Life, close to St. Petersburg.
This NGO was twice included into educational visit programme organized by ECAD Sweden for Swedish drug policy coordinators in order to get to grips with a survival and success kit the NGO invented without any sort of state support.
Last autumn, a fact finding visit was paid to the community by a project team from Institute for Security and Development Policy.
A policy brief paper was published afterwards, also reflecting on Russian drug policy developments (download as PDF-file).
This August, a group of drug policy coordinators from Sweden will continue with experience exchange and a study visit to St.Petersburg. ECAD will publish a review of the study visit soon.
ECAD observed and took part in Russian drug policy developments for years thanks to many project contacts with drug enforcement, treatment facilities and NGOs, particularly in St.Petersburg, where ECAD representation in Russia was active. While Russian parliamentarians were focusing on improving an obsolete legal framework of the 90-ies in order to adjust drug policy to the actual situation, many private actors worked with drug addicts in the streets. One of the oldest and most successful turned out to be addiction treatment community New Life, close to St. Petersburg.
This NGO was twice included into educational visit programme organized by ECAD Sweden for Swedish drug policy coordinators in order to get to grips with a survival and success kit the NGO invented without any sort of state support.
Last autumn, a fact finding visit was paid to the community by a project team from Institute for Security and Development Policy.
A policy brief paper was published afterwards, also reflecting on Russian drug policy developments (download as PDF-file).
This August, a group of drug policy coordinators from Sweden will continue with experience exchange and a study visit to St.Petersburg. ECAD will publish a review of the study visit soon.