Russia is a country where tragedy
and angst are guests that never leave.
That is not to say that Russia
or Russians hold no amount of humor and light, I'm sure. I've never been
there, but I collect Soviet "anecdotii" (jokes), wickedly sarcastic
and funny views of the burdens Russians and others endured throughout that era.
Now, it is not a Communist economy
the people have to fear, but
another Russian tragedy, and it is the
direct result of State[i] intervention....albeit
intervention that is no doubt backed by a sincere wish to "help
people."
A designer drug called
"Krokodil", a sort of home-made desomorphine is
making the rounds in the slums of Siberia and Ukraine. As far as I can
see, "Krokodil" is suicide in a syringe. It is made from
codeine--available over the counter in Russia--iodine; and something called red
phosphorous, right in the user(s)' home in a pot on the stove. The high
from Krokodil lasts about an hour and a half, and supposedly painful
withdrawal symptoms set in right away so the ability to avoid injecting more is
probably nil.
