On 16 July 2025, another raid took place in Karaganda to remove advertisements for synthetic drugs. The Karaganda Youth Resource Centre organised a large-scale campaign to combat drug advertising in the urban environment, with participants painting over graffiti advertising synthetic narcotic substances on the streets of the regional centre.
Since the beginning of 2025, 40 similar raids have already been carried out in Karaganda. During this period, activists have painted over more than 2,000 instances of drug-related graffiti. These figures indicate that the problem of the spread of drug information in the urban environment remains relevant and requires constant attention.
Today's raid saw the participation of representatives from various community groups. These included police officers, community activists, volunteers from the Kind QJ movement, bloggers, athletes, and the city's active youth. This diversity of participants demonstrates a cross-sectoral approach to tackling the problem of drug addiction in the region.
It is worth recalling that in early May this year, a large-scale meeting of the council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the regional council on the prevention of drug-related offences took place in Karaganda, with representatives of the Presidential Administration in attendance. The event included a series of meetings aimed at strengthening preventive work in the fight against drug use, with particular attention paid to work with university students.
Such initiatives play an important role in creating a safe urban environment. Visual advertising of drugs creates an impression of their availability and normalisation, especially among young people.
The systematic removal of such graffiti helps to reduce the informational pressure on potential users. Furthermore, active public participation in such campaigns helps to increase social responsibility and foster a negative attitude towards drugs in society.
Photo: Office of the Akim of the Karaganda Region