Armenia has over 20,000 registered drug addicts

Noyan Tapan news agency
28 Jul 05

YEREVAN

According to official information, there are 20-25,000 drug addicts in
Armenia, 95 per cent of them are using hemp and five per cent
intravenous drugs.

Most of the drug addicts are men between 25 and 40 years old. Grigor
Malinyants, co-chairman on the Armenian side of the anti-drug
programme, implemented in the region under the auspices of the United
Nations Development Programme and financed by the European Union, said
this at the opening of a workshop on auricular acupuncture on 28 July.

Malinyants said that specialists invited from abroad will conduct the
training within the framework of the programme. The practical part of
the course will be held at the narcological clinic and a closed-type
joint stock company Psychiatric medical centre of the Armenian Health
Ministry, between 28 July and 2 August.

It was noted that the aim of the programme, which has been underway
since 2000, is to coordinate the activities of the programme’s
participant countries, as well as Armenian, Georgian and Azerbaijani
law-enforcement bodies, and to prevent the spread of drug abuse and
illegal drug trafficking from the South Caucasus to EU member states.