Putin concerned about drug addiction in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that the state's efforts aimed atfighting against drug addiction are inefficient. The head of state voicedhis opinion at a meeting devoted to questions of preventing drugdissemination. Putin admitted that inefficient actions on fighting againstdrug addiction attributed partially to objective reasons bound withtransparent borders on the south of Russia. At the same time the Presidentstressed that it did not give a right to plead "objective character ofthese difficulties and not to take additional efforts to struggle againstthis evil".Putin noted that "usual measures are not enough" to fight against drugaddiction. The President pointed to a necessity of "new proposals thatcould result in noticeable changes in the struggle against drugs".Among participants of today's meeting there were Deputy Prime MinisterValentina Matviyenko, Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov, first Deputy FinanceMinister Alexey Ulyukayav, first Deputy Secretary of the Security CouncilVladislav Sherstyuk and Alexander Voloshin, head of the PresidentialAdministration. .