Drugs in the Postsocialist Transitions of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland

Lagerspetz, Mikko; Moskalewicz, Jacek

doi:10.1159/000066137

Cited by 39 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In Eastern Europe, drug use was not unknown during the socialist era, (Lagerspetz & Moskalewicz, 2002) and was labeled as a moral problem, stigmatized and criminalized. Injection drug use epidemics emerged in the 1990s and have led to some of the highest HCV prevalence rates among PWID (Nelson, et al, 2011) reported in the world.…”

Section: Estoniamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An international perspective on using opioid substitution treatment to improve hepatitis C prevention and care for people who inject drugs: Structural barriers and public health potential

Perlman

Jordan

Uusküla

et al. 2015

International Journal of Drug Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

People who inject drugs (PWID) are central to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic. Opioid substitution treatment (OST) of opioid dependence has the potential to play a significant role in the public health response to HCV by serving as an HCV prevention intervention, by treating non-injection opioid dependent people who might otherwise transition to non-sterile drug injection, and by serving as a platform to engage HCV infected PWID in the HCV care continuum and link them to HCV treatment. This paper examines programmatic, structural and policy considerations for using OST as a platform to improve the HCV prevention and care continuum in 3 countries—the United States, Estonia and Viet Nam. In each country a range of interconnected factors affects the use OST as a component of HCV control. These factors include 1) that OST is not yet provided on the scale needed to adequately address illicit opioid dependence, 2) inconsistent use of OST as a platform for HCV services, 3) high costs of HCV treatment and health insurance policies that affect access to both OST and HCV treatment, and 4) the stigmatization of drug use. We see the following as important for controlling HCV transmission among PWID: 1) maintaining current HIV prevention efforts, 2) expanding efforts to reduce the stigmatization of drug use, 3) expanding use of OST as part of a coordinated public health approach to opioid dependence, HIV prevention, and HCV control efforts, 4) reductions in HCV treatment costs and expanded health system coverage to allow population level HCV treatment as prevention and OST as needed. The global expansion of OST and use of OST as a platform for HCV services should be feasible next steps in the public health response to the HCV epidemic, and is likely to be critical to efforts to eliminate or eradicate HCV.

show abstract

Section: Estoniamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Lagerspetz & Moskalewicz, 2002) The transition from Soviet occupation to autonomy brought about major societal upheaval. Employment fell by one fifth, the gross domestic product decreased by nearly 40% (Lauristin & Pettai, 2011; Staehr, 2004) and there were cuts in social services linked to loans from international lenders.…”

Section: Estoniamentioning

confidence: 99%

An international perspective on using opioid substitution treatment to improve hepatitis C prevention and care for people who inject drugs: Structural barriers and public health potential

Perlman

Jordan

Uusküla

et al. 2015

International Journal of Drug Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…opiates. In comparison with other regions of Estonia, the inhabitants of Narva use more heroin and home-made poppy liquid --the same substance reported in Poland since the 1970s as ''polski kompot'' (Lagerspetz and Moskalewicz 2002). This narcotic substance is prepared and used intravenously in the company of others and the intake often takes the form of a bonding ritual.…”

Section: Patterns Of Drug Usementioning

confidence: 94%

Drugs and Doublethink in a Marginalised Community

Allaste

Lagerspetz

2005

Crit Crim

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

On the basis of observations and qualitative interview material, the article presents an account of the patterns of illicit drug use among Russian-speaking adolescents in Narva, a problem-ridden industrial town on the north-eastern border of Estonia. Both legal and illegal drugs are easily available and frequently used by secondary school students and school dropouts. Neither the schools nor the parents are able to act effectively as enforcers of official norms; instead, the informal peer group, the kampanya, guides the activities of the problematic youth. The local adult community seems to tacitly accept many other forms of illegal behaviour, and illicit drug use can be regarded merely as another instance of a greater discrepancy between official norms and informal practices. We consider this discrepancy characteristic of post-socialist Central and Eastern European societies and refer to it as doublethink. This mode of thought may form an additional link between social deprivation and problematic drug use. Measures for preventing drug addiction and marginalisation in the former socialist countries need to be accompanied by the establishment of mutual trust and an active re-creation of a shared moral universe between communities and public authorities.

show abstract

“…Similarly to other countries in Eastern and Central Europe, Estonia has a relatively brief experience of problems related to the use of illicit substances (Lagerspetz & Moskalewicz 2002). In the previously "Real Socialist" countries in general, the increase in drug use among youth (witnessed by Western countries since the 1970s) did not take place until the 1990s.…”

Section: Taking Control By Loosing Control? Introduetionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taking Control by Loosing Control?: Patterns of heroin addiction in Estonia

Allaste

Lagerspetz

2006

Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Similarly to other countries in Eastern and Central Europe, Estonia has a relatively short experience of problems related to the use of illicit substances. In the previously “Real Socialist” countries in general, the increase in drug use among youth did not take place until the 1990s. This paper focuses on opiate users in Estonia. Unlike some other drugs, heroin does not have a trendy status, but is strongly rejected by the recreational drug users of the party scene. On the contrary, opiate users tend to be heavily marginalized. Relying on open-ended interviews with opiate users, this paper focuses on relationships between addiction and the cultural context of drug use. The majority of opiate users belong to the Russian-speaking minority, whose relative social status has considerably weakened after the restoration of Estonia's independence in 1991, and who have limited opportunities in the educational and labour markets. Young people started to use drugs from a desire to experience action, but the absence of other meaningful roles besides that of a drug user quickly led them towards addiction. However, the addicts were able to develop and maintain new competencies for living with heroin. It can be argued that addiction does not lead to a complete loss of control over their lives, but is rather an escape route from mainstream society. Heroin users do not become addicted to the drug alone but to the whole way of life centred on it.

show abstract

Drugs in the Postsocialist Transitions of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland

Cited by 39 publications

References 4 publications

An international perspective on using opioid substitution treatment to improve hepatitis C prevention and care for people who inject drugs: Structural barriers and public health potential

An international perspective on using opioid substitution treatment to improve hepatitis C prevention and care for people who inject drugs: Structural barriers and public health potential

Drugs and Doublethink in a Marginalised Community

Taking Control by Loosing Control?: Patterns of heroin addiction in Estonia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About