Russia to D.C.: You’re all doomed to be drug addicts

[uhnope]

Source: Washington Post

Russia has weighed in on marijuana legalization in D.C. and, well, it seems we’re all doomed to a life of drug addiction. The Russian Health Ministry’s top drug specialist, according to Interfax news service, rebuked Initiative 71 — the D.C. law that went into effect Thursday legalizing possession of marijuana — and warned his country not to legalize the drug.

“When authorities take their cues from the basest interests of the population, what will happen is everyone will become drug addicts,” Yevgeny Bryun, the Russian Health Ministry’s top drugs specialist, told the Interfax news service. “The path from marijuana to hard drugs doesn’t happen in 100 percent of cases, but it’s common. The use of marijuana is a gateway to stronger drug addiction, and people who have genetic and inherent risk factors are sure to become addicts.”

Russia has long been criticized for its harsh treatment of drug addicts and its lack of rehabilitation systems. The head of the country’s federal drug control service has said that drugs would never be legalized in the country.

A new study found that marijuana is safer than previously thought and more than 100 times less deadly than booze.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/02/27/russia-to-d-c-youre-all-doomed-to-be-drug-addicts/

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Speaking of drug addicts...the head of Russia's anti-drug agency blames their designer drug problem, which can cause paranoia, on Ukraine.

Just 10 bucks and a phone call can get you Russia's dangerous new drug

It's called spice, mix, or killer spice. It can be smoked like a cigarette, snorted or injected to produce an intense high — but it also can cause panic attacks, hallucinations, spasms, cardiovascular problems and lung disease, according to health experts.

"Smoking just a small joint with spice can lead to a coma, and sometimes the drug can induce a very heavy paranoia," says Moscow-based journalist Mansur Mirovalev, who has been speaking with doctors and addicts about the synthetic street drug.
...
Just 600 rubles, about $10, will get you a bag with "five or six joints," he says.

So where does spice come from? Mirovalev interviewed one Russian drug addiction expert who told him “somebody is deliberately trying to poison the young generation in Russia.” That kind of conspiracy theory echoes accusations from Viktor Ivanov, the head of Russia's top anti-drug agency, that Ukraine is responsible for the “tsunami of synthetic drugs" coming into Russia.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-02-27/just-10-bucks-and-phone-call-can-get-you-russias-dangerous-new-drug

[sakabatou]

1. Is this the Onion or is Russia high right now?

[Cha]

2. Doesn't Russia have a ******* vodka problem? I'd rather

have MJ legal for people who want it than have them abuse vodka.

“When authorities take their cues from the basest interests of the population, what will happen is everyone will become drug addicts,”

Yeah, much better to have a ******* Dic like putin running the show.

[elias49]

3. Classy. nt

[Cha]

14. Ohhhh, what's the matter? Did I say something about Mr Dictator that you don't like.. BooHooo

[elias49]

18. Haha! Not at all.

It's your timidity with the word "fucking'. Come on! You can say it. You're a grown up.
FUCKING VODKA FUCKING PUTIN!!

Don't you feel better now?
Oh Cha! Let your hair down.

[Cha]

19. Awwww.. sorry, you don't like the way I post.. I'm all broken up about it.

[Trillo]

6. Stolichnaya! NT

[Cha]

15. No thanks.

[nomorenomore08]

24. Naw, that's the good vodka the poor folks can't afford.

Think of the truly bottom-shelf stuff sold as "perfume" or "mouthwash" to get around alcohol tax laws.

[Trillo]

25. True.

I was just pointing out the hypocrisy for Russia (or whoever made the statement in Russia) to complain about marijuana. Stoli! Time to get hammered?

[FLPanhandle]

11. Vodka is much worse than Pot

And Russia has a much bigger problem with alcohol than the US does with any drug.

[Cha]

13. Of course it is.. but, according to the Russian Ministry of "health".. MJ/Bad Russia/Perfect 'cause

they're throwing freaking stones.

[Scootaloo]

16. You know you're allowed to cuss here, right, cha?

Those asterisks make your post look like it has dust bunnies

[freshwest]

36. LOL@ 'Yeah, much better to have a ******* Dic like putin running the show'

Just a little swingin' music.

[treestar]

38. They don't even have proof

where drugs have been legalized, it has not resulted in everyone becoming an addict. They don't even now what they are talking about.

[Cha]

42. LOL, Russian Ministry of "Health" doesn't need no stinkin' proof!

treestar

[jomin41]

4. Wow, they sound like repubs! n/t

[wordpix]

12. my thought, too - the evil commie state allies w/jingoistic US capitalists

who hate the Evil Empire we know it's happening b/c Russia is an oligarchical gov just like our own repuke wannabes

[RobertEarl]

5. eh??

This slick is from a country with the 2nd worst nuclear disaster in the world which has killed millions, and he's spewing something about a natural weed?

[christx30]

7. I love that line:

“When authorities take their cues from the basest interests of the population, what will happen is everyone will become drug addicts,”

Because you don't want people to decide what's best for themselves. It's best to have your local Kommissar making your decisions for you. You are property of the state.

[Comrade Grumpy]

8. The Russians are horrible on drug policy.

And it has consequences now in Crimea. There were hundreds of methadone patients there, but Russia doesn't believe in that shit, so they cut off the supplies.

But I understand the Kiev government has quit sending it to the separatist regions, too.

Too bad for Crimean and Donbass junkies.

[hatrack]

9. This from the country that brought the world Krokodil (warning, graphic)

Whatever, guys.

[wordpix]

17. "About one million people in Russia use krokodil"

http://www.drugs.com/illicit/krokodil.html

Yes, Russia, your nation has a shining example drug policy we should follow

[newthinking]

30. Russia is just learning how to deal with drugs. Use exploded after the USSR fell

Like the US it will take them time to find better policies toward it.

Reminds me a lot of our own policies less than 20 years ago. Anyone else remember "your brain on drugs" commercials?

[AngryDem001]

33. Like this one?

Yeah, I got a question! Can I get my brains over-easy with sausage and hashbrowns?

[L0oniX]

35. Soon they will learn to use it against minorities just like we do here.

Most recently we are using the drug laws to imprison the unemployed white people too. If you aren't working then you should be in prison which creates jobs for guards.

[NickB79]

41. My first thought as well

Thank God you posted pics, I didn't want to have to Google for them

[hopemountain]

46. yes, this is exactly what putin has in mind for americans

putin is just throwing sand in our eyes with the legality of marijuana attack. meanwhile the russian drug cartels are pumping this toxin into the black market.

[Hulk]

10. Oh yeah...this guy looks like he's high on marijuana....doh

Give me a break. I thought the scare tactics were awful in THIS country. These dumb ass holes are going way, way, way down the tunnel of delusion.

[americannightmare]

20. Right, because that's what happened...

in Portugal...

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/evaluating-drug-decriminalization-in-portugal-12-years-later-a-891060.html

[Locrian]

21. sooo...

When did real red blooded 'mericans start listening to a bunch of red commies?!

[blackspade]

23. Commies?

Really?

[Locrian]

43. geez

Do I need the tag? Really?

[blackspade]

44. Sorry, I was playing along....

[Locrian]

45. giddyup

[blackspade]

22. Russia's minister of 'health' can fuck off

He is obviously unfit for the job based on his rampant stupidity.

I mean, why the fuck would he even care?
I guess a mellow and relaxed US wouldn't be quite the adversary to justify their authoritative bullshit.

[seveneyes]

26. Russia dude so high he escaped the gravity of reality

Everywhere is down from his stance in life. Light up a take a big hit of this Ivan ...

[Anansi1171]

27. Bottoms Up, Comrade!

'Cause we wouldnt want a populace rife with chemical dependence, a declining populace and...

Who needs addictions when polonium will do the trick?

[newthinking]

31. Stereotypes can be a type of brain rot too

Russia's population is no longer declining. Look it up.
Alcohol consumption is still a problem but consistently declining.

Most every country is different, has different ways of adopting policies, is in different stages of learning.

[Anansi1171]

40. True, and it was a snark-laced comment.

But my sentiments for this tool still remains, and his ignorance is yet another kind of brain rot - that of the pointed-finger where the glance in the mirror is what he needs.

[madokie]

28. That poor guy

in America he would have been roughed up, tasered and maybe even shot because he surely couldn't follow orders.

Reminds me of what pcp does to some people

[littlemissmartypants]

29. why is this LBN?

[jwirr]

32. Better than vodka.

[L0oniX]

34. STFU and drink yer fucking vodka.

[packman]

37. Russia even has problems with booze

and their respect for animals-

"Two alcoholic Russian bears who were kept in appalling conditions for more than 20 years could soon be enjoying a new life in Romania.
In February, a court ruled that the male bears must be confiscated from their owner, who kept them in a small, rubbish-strewn cage at a restaurant in the Black Sea city of Sochi. The animals - one of which is blind - became addicted to alcohol after visitors continually gave them drinks"


http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-31622170

[vkkv]

39. Yevgeny Bryun, the Russian Health Ministry’s top drugs specialist then said:

"PASS ME THE VODKA, QUICK!"