Decolonizing addiction treatment in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Confronting Russian narcology and Western retreat
Journal: International Journal of Drug Policy
Year: 2026

Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) face a dual crisis in addiction treatment. On one side, Russian imperial legacies persist through punitive "narcology," now weaponized amid ongoing aggression. On the other, Western retrenchment, marked by abrupt aid suspensions and dwindling harm-reduction budgets, has weakened the evidence-based counterweight that once challenged authoritarian approaches. The result is a convergence of punitive logics that marginalizes people who use drugs, whether throug