Inside Russia's Teenage Drug Epidemic

Teenagers in Russia are consuming, distributing, and even producing mephedrone, a powerful synthetic stimulant. A Russian BBC investigative project gained rare access to the entire supply chain and documented the devastating impact of the drug on Russia’s youth.

According to the BBC, mephedrone reaches the brain faster than most synthetic drugs, triggering euphoria, energy surges, sexual desire, and sociability. But the effects fade quickly, leaving users with anxiety and depression, leading to rapid addiction.

Russia banned mephedrone and its components in 2010, but its popularity has continued to grow, especially among teenagers. According to psychologist and rehabilitation worker Irina Medved and the head of a rehab center interviewed by the BBC, some children in Russia now try drugs as early as 12, and many are regular users of mephedrone by age 14.

Mephedrone consistently holds about one-third of Russia’s drug market. Data from the research project DarkMetrics, which studies the Russian darknet, shows that users of four major darknet marketplaces left around 312,000 reviews for mephedrone in a single month, about a third of all reviews. Researchers estimate that figure reflects that Russia is seeing up to 700,000 real purchases per month, as most users leave reviews only occasionally.

“It’s basically become the poor man’s cocaine,” said Dan (name changed), supervisor of a large mephedrone lab. “Russian youth will keep sniffing it until it’s gone. When it’s gone, they’ll buy more. Or go to school or university the next day.”

Teenagers are also taking part in distribution. One 15 year old, Maxim, works as a zakladchik, a drug courier who hides small packages for buyers to collect. In Russia, online drug sales are largely anonymous: customers receive GPS coordinates to retrieve their stash. Couriers like Maxim repackage wholesale quantities into smaller doses and send pickup locations to coordinators.

Maxim said he found the job by simply searching “work” on Telegram. He earned R200-300 (roughly $2-4) per delivery, money he sometimes used to buy groceries or clothing. By 16, after finishing nine years of school and working part-time as a cook, he saw an online ad for a “chemist” – someone to synthesize mephedrone.

Producers favor mephedrone for its low cost and simplicity. Earlier research and interviews conducted by the BBC suggest production costs range between R30,000 and R150,000 ($360 and $1,800) per kilogram, while retail prices reach about R2 million (over $24,000) per kilo.

“Other synthetic drugs require precise measurements and expensive equipment,” said Nikolai (name changed), a consultant chemist who writes synthesis manuals. “Mephedrone became popular because you can cook it in a kitchen.”

Former investigator Renat Kuramshin agreed. “We blocked big hashish shipments, big heroin shipments. Something had to replace them. Mephedrone appeared, easy to make anywhere, from central Russia to the Arctic Circle.”

To begin producing, Maxim ordered a boxed set of chemicals from a darknet marketplace. The kit included numbered containers and simple instructions: “mix one and two, pour into three.” “It’s like building a LEGO,” he told journalists. “No extra parts, just follow the instructions.” The box arrived at a regular supermarket pickup point.

By age 17, Maxim led a double life – a café cook by morning, a drug manufacturer by afternoon.

One major obstacle for producers is obtaining precursors. Since 2022, these chemicals have been tightly restricted under Russian law. Kuramshin said manufacturers now rely either on domestic chemical plants under strict surveillance or imports from China. Shipments are concealed among legitimate cargo.

“In China, chemical production is widespread,” Kuramshin said. “Precursors are disguised as legal goods and shipped to Kazakhstan, where customs checks are lighter. From there, shipments move freely into Russia through the customs union.”

Dan, who coordinated supply chains for a darknet shop, confirmed that precursors are imported under the guise of legal chemicals like pesticides. “We use legitimate logistics firms,” he said. “A truckload of precursors from China might also carry sneakers or sex toys.”

The BBC gained access to a private chat of wholesale drug dealers discussing precursor supplies. Over six months, reporters confirmed that the standard route runs from China through Kazakhstan.

To verify this, a BBC journalist, posing as a buyer, contacted several Chinese factories selling precursors. Representatives assured the journalist that delivery to Russia would be safe and provided a tracking number for a shipment routed through Kazakhstan. They also sent a photo of a yellow storage cabin and boxes wrapped in yellow tape, identified in October 2023 as being at the “Yuzhnye Vorota” (“Southern Gate”) market in Moscow.

The “Southern Gate” market is often described as a hub for “grey customs clearance” where Chinese and Kazakh goods arrive and can easily conceal barrels of drug precursors. The market is owned by businessman God Nisanov, who, according to investigative outlet Proekt, has ties to Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergei Naryshkin. Nisanov also owns the “Sadovod” and “Moscow” trade complexes, which the outlet Baza has cited as end points for precursor deliveries. Market management did not respond to the BBC’s inquiries.

The market’s location also benefits traffickers; shipments can be hidden in nearby forests, close to highways, for easy pickup by couriers or chemists.

According to the BBC, authorities shut down mephedrone labs in Russia every two to three days. In 2024 alone, more than 138 labs were dismantled, accounting for about half of all drug labs closed that year.

In the summer of 2023, Maxim was arrested. Police found equipment, 700 grams of mephedrone, precursor residues, and several bank cards in his apartment. He and an accomplice were sent to pretrial detention.

Facing a long prison sentence, Maxim looked for a way out. “Who needs a 30-year-old ex-con with no education?” he asked journalists. To avoid serving his full term, he signed a contract with Russia’s Defense Ministry to fight in Russia's War on Ukraine.

His mother told the BBC that Maxim signed the contract in July 2024. A month later, fellow soldiers informed her that Maxim might have been killed on a combat mission. As of the fall of 2024, he was officially listed as missing in action.