VENICE, Italy, Nov 10, 2007 (AFP) - A lack of funds, viable data and political will are hampering efforts to cut drug abuse in eastern Europe, experts attending an anti-drug conference said Saturday.
And one contributor warned that if the problem was not tackled, western European countries would eventually pay the price too.
The Czech Republic coordinator for drug problems, Kamil Kalina, warned: "If European policymakers leave countries in the east in the shadows of anti-drug policies, it could have a boomerang effect of a force the West cannot imagine."
Some 30,000 people in the Czech Republic, for example, are considered "problem" drug users, of whom 20,000 consume methamphetamines. The other 10,000 use primarily injectable drugs.
"Eastern countries, regardless of whether they are EU members of not, are very disoriented concerning anti-drug policies," he added.
Either they hide the reality, or they lack cruelly in experience, funds, political will and partners to properly realise risk-reduction programs," said Jiri Richter, president of the Czech drug association Sananim.
Pavel Abraham, head of Romania's anti-drug agency, said: "We're still in the early stages of an anti-drug policy particularly when it comes to reducing risks."
Other experts denounced overly repressive policies concerning drug use in eastern Europe and called on international donors to establish more flexible anti-drug programs in these countries.
A report by Human Rights Watch released Friday said Russia's health policies were failing to tackle the problem of drug addiction and thus putting drug users at a greater risk of catching other serious diseases.
"Russia urgently needs to incorporate international best practices for drug treatment into its treatment system," said Diederik Lohman, a senior researcher with the group's HIV/AIDS programme.
Use of illegal drugs, particularly of heroine and other injectables, is surging in eastern Europe and Russia, according to the Drug Policy Alliance, a US-based think tank.
The availability of illicit substances had also expanded with the growth of organised crime, it said.
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