Stimulant use in Central & Eastern Europe: How Recent Social History Shaped Current Drug Consumption Patterns
Abstract
Current patterns of production and consumption of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are best understood in historical context. In this chapter we draw upon our own studies and the available data regarding ATS use from several countries in the CEE region.
We review the continuity and distinctions in the social structure of ATS use that continues to be predominated by localized homemade production and small group consumption patterns that were a product of the austere and controlled conditions of Communism. We then describe the health consequences for current users of ATS as being shaped by diverging paths from a legacy of punitive prohibition and drug treatment aimed at controlling individuals’ threat to the collective interests of the state as suggested by the totalitarian regime.