Anti-poppy campaign in Transnistria

Transnistrian police have been charged to identify the owners of houses in the courtyards of which they grow poppy and cannabis. Info-Prim Neo's correspondent in the area reports the moves are part of an operation called “The Poppy – 2008”, meant to counteract drugs smuggling from June through August. In this context, the police recommend land owners to verify their plots and to destroy the poppy and cannabis plants found. Most of the people, most living in villages, on whose lands police discovered such plants, say they were not aware of fines or criminal procedures they are at the risk of. For some inhabitants of the Transnistrian area, growing poppy and cannabis has become a main bread-earning activity. These days,the police discovered a man from Tiraspol had 600 poppy plants growing, as such cases are registered on a daily basis. Drug addiction among adolescents is a special problem in Transnistria. According to data of the Interior Ministry of the area, every third teen-ager under 16 has already tried drugs. Street cleaners say they find enormous quantities of syringes near bus stations, in parks and squares every morning. Many teen-agers are punished under law for illegally cultivating poppy and cannabis, but this does not make the number of the people involved in the business to sink. The police believes the local legislation is also related to the rise of juvenile delinquency caused by drugs, as it allows unpunished keeping and carrying small quantities of drugs -- “for personal usage”. “The small quantity” is established to up to 0.1 grams marijuana and hashish, up to 0.05 grams of opium, up to 0.2 grams of poppy straws and up to 0.005 grams of heroine.