Drug Abuse in the Global Village

Drug Abuse in Eastern Europe

                      NATIONAL STRATEGY

BELARUS
A master plan to determine a National Strategy against the spread of drug abuse and illicit trafficking was reported being drafted in September 1993 (Ministry of Internal Affairs 1993). A National Health Plan (NHP) for the years 1988 to 2000 has been adopted (CMO 1990).

BULGARIA
Bulgaria uses legal policy to control drug supply and demand. Severe sanctions and imprisonment terms are imposed on offenders (Bulgaria 1991).

     The Government of Bulgaria has created a National Council for Combatting Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking.  Headed by the Minister of Public Health, and composed of members from many ministries, the councils' responsibility will be to coordinate the Governments' demand and supply reduction activities (Bulgaria 1994).

CROATIA
No information reported by 31st December 1993.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA
The National Drug Programme elaborated by the Government in 1992 aims at focusing and coordinating the efforts of all ministries involved in the drug abuse problem. The drug control policies of the Czech and Slovak Republics address supply and demand reduction as well as treatment and rehabilitation (Anti-Drug Policies 1992)

HUNGARY
An Interministerial Drug Committee was established in 1991 to develop a national strategy to coordinate the work of all ministries and agencies in the field of drug abuse and to elaborate proposals for the allocation of resources to combat drug abuse.  The first session of the Committee prioritized data collection as a prerequisite for the drafting of a National Strategy (Hungary 1991). A National Prevention Planning Workgroup was established in 1992 to prepare an inventory of existing prevention activities and a National Prevention Planning week was convened to prepare a national plan of preventive activities (Interministerial Drug Committee 1992).

LATVIA
Drug control in Latvia was part of that of the Soviet Union prior to independence in May 1991. In 1993, the National Drug Control and Drug Addiction Suppression Co-ordination Commission were established to control legal drugs and psychotropic substances (Nordic-Baltic Meeting 1993). The national strategy aims to focus on prevention and education (Nordic-Baltic Meeting 1993).

POLAND
No information reported by 31st December 1993.

ROMANIA
Due to the limited number of drug addicts in Romania, the Government reports that no national programme for drug abuse prevention have been put into place (U.N. 1992).

RUSSIA
The State Narcotic Drug Policy, approved in July 1993, aims at a balanced approach between preventing and interdicting the illicit supply of narcotic drugs and reducing the demand for them. The policy involves: improvement of the procedures for regulating legal trading in narcotic drugs, efforts to combat the illicit traffic in these substances, prevention of their unlawful consumption and treatment and social reintegration for drug addicts (Policy 1993).

     The policy's immediate priorities are the improvement of operations to monitor the traffic in narcotic drugs and the creation of the necessary legal framework for these activities; the establishment of an interdepartmental system for the collection and analysis of information on drug movements; the application of methods for the identification of narcotic substances; the introduction of improved medical and legal approaches to the early detection of illicit consumers and also the singling out of high risk population groups so that they may be assisted through specifically designed preventive measures (Policy 1993).

SLOVENIA
No information reported by 31st December 1993.

UKRAINE
The Ukrainian Government neither have a clearly defined national policy regarding alcoholism and drug abuse, nor a national programme aimed at solving the related problems. The principal reasons for this are reported to be economic difficulties and lack of financing. In 1993, a Coordinating Council to Combat Drug Addiction was set up under the Office of the President. The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs and other relevant organizations are engaged in drafting an anti-drug legislation (U.N. 1992).

     Medical aspects of drug abuse are coordinated by the Kharkov Research Institute for Neurology and Psychiatry of the Ministry of Health (CMO 1990).