Four million drug users in Russia

About 4 million Russians, or 3% of the country's population, take narcotic drugs, Viktor Cherkesov, Chairman of the state-run committee controlling drug use in Russia, told a Board meeting of his department.

"Russia's convenient geopolitical location and difficulties with organisation and realisation of border and customs control attract the attention of the international drug business circles," he said. He added that the fact that the average price of heroin on the Russian black market was three or even four times cheaper than that in Europe made the drug threat even worse.

As of today, hemp crops defile more than 1 million hectares of Russian land, Cherkesov reported. He also mentioned occasional leakage of narcotic substances, psychotropic medicines and hard drugs from legal circulation and home production of those of narcotic drugs that are popular among young people.