Kazakhstan: Senators down on getting high
Lawmakers say that a southern region of the country is gripped by a wave of drug-related crime
Friday, May 25, 2018
Lawmakers in Kazakhstan have demanded that police crack down on what they say is the rampant cannabis-growing industry in the south of the country. Addressing the head of the Interior Ministry, the deputies noted that they were concerned that the strain of the plant being cultivated in the Kyzylorda region, Cannabis indica, is five times more powerful than the native variety that grows wild. Vladimir Volkov said he was concerned at the steep rise of criminality in the region. Over five years, 84 drug plantations have been discovered. The illegal business appears to be attracting not just organized crime but also regular rural inhabitants. Local prosecutors say that the tolerance for the consumption of drugs complicates the work of police officers as nobody is willing to report criminal offenses.
