Old and new drug consumption habits in Hungary, Romania and Moldova

The authors present patterns of drug use during the political and social transition periods in Hungary, Romania and Moldova. During the 1990s, each country witnessed major changes in the proliferation of various deviant behaviour patterns. These changes remain rather difficult to interpret and often reveal conflicting tendencies. Available statistical data and research results vary from country to country. On the basis of the information available, we can conclude that the era following the political transitions is characterised by an increase in drug-related problems. Although the extent of illicit drug use is probably much smaller than the extent of many other social problems, the novel nature of the drug problem and its extreme growth in the 1990s make it more of a social issue in all three countries.