>>> uvj at vsnl.com 05/24/01 01:54PM >>>
The Hindu on indiaserver.com
Sunday, May 20, 2001
Opium, the new religion
The economic and social crisis ensuing from the collapse of the Soviet Union has pushed many to seek solace in drugs. VLADIMIR RADYUHIN on Russia's scourge. UNDER A torrent of narcotics gushing in from Afghanistan and Central Asia, Russia is fast succumbing to the scourge of drug abuse and the related spread of AIDS. Drug addiction has jumped 20-fold in the country over the last 10 years, with 4 million to 5 million of Russia's 146-million population using drugs, half of them considered addicts, according to official estimates. Independent researchers say there are no reliable statistics and cite 10 million drug users and five million or six million addicts. The explosive rise in drug abuse came after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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CB: This is more evidence , data, in an experiment (which has about as many controls on it as one can expect in the real world; same country , two systems, roughly same period and population) that demonstrates more and more that socialism is superior to capitalism.