Translated material
Spice hunting
From the author
When I went to Riga, all that I had was an idea, a camera and one contact. I wanted to access subcultures of the city, to its dark places. I wandered around the evil areas of this semi-Soviet-semi-European city, and what caught my eye was a clash of cultures, old and new.
It turned out that one of the most relevant in Latvia is the problem of the legal drug Spice, which they call there - “Legal” or “Legalchik”.
Spice is a monstrous drug, a sprayed chemical mixture with a constantly changing formula, so it cannot be prohibited. Spice is called synthetic marijuana, although, unlike marijuana, it often leads to death or to a strong mental disorder. The main "consumers" of Spice are adolescents 13-15 years old.
Unlike Estonia and Lithuania, where Spice is equated with severe drugs, in Latvia this drug (one of the most common and having a huge social effect) is left without the attention of the authorities. Probably, a mixture of legislative difficulties and the good old Soviet corruption turns the leadership of the city and the republic from participating in solving this problem. Therefore, "amateurs" have to enter the game.
The control and use of spice is trying to take over the volunteer movement Stop Drugs , consisting of individuals acting without any official support. To date, the movement has more than 1000 people. Stop D Rugs operates without contact with social services, rehabilitation centers or law enforcement agencies. The task that they set for themselves is to close in Riga all points of spice spread, acting within the framework of the law.
What is the Stop D Rugs movement - the heroism of some people, which is forced to manifest as a result of the inaction of others? Or is it an extreme sport, dangerous entertainment for young? Or maybe this is the confrontation of various youth groups? Or all together?
I express my special gratitude to Chipsiku , without which the implementation of the project would be impossible.