The dark side of the moon
Balkan communities have their own difficult experiences with drugs. Heroin, cannabis and ecstasy are popular with the young. Drug addicts are estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands and the numbers are growing as more young people resort to heroin in response to unemployment and lack of prospects. The Balkan drama has been marked by nationalism, war, refugees, the collapse of the commodity distribution system, and the inability to establish another, even one that is less just. But there is a dark side of the moon, where drugs, people trafficking and prostitution have a prominent place. Now that the geopolitical focus has shifted to other strategic locations on the planet, that side of the moon is becoming darker. There probably won’t be any more nationalist wars in the Balkans, but there is no doubt that states and political power have been born and are growing up arm in arm with organized crime.
