ions against forces considered harmful to the regime or to public order. Young Russia and a half dozen other pro-Kremlin youth groups were formed in the mid-2000s, analysts and opposition figures say, to prevent street protests similar to those that ushered pro-Western opposition forces into power in three ex-Soviet states: Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. Russian authorities are accused of encouraging violence, or the threat of violence, by youth gangs when dealing with what they see as threats to stability. The vigilantes' free hand indicates that the spice epidemic is seen as one of such threats. The Interior Ministry, which controls Russia's police, declined comment to The Associated Press on the gangs. The head of Russia's anti-drugs agency, Viktor Ivanov, criticized the group's actions as illegal and "nothing but noise." Spice consists of herbs coated in chemicals that mimic the effects of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine. In recent years, millions here, mostly teenagers, have smoked various kinds of spice, attracted by its cheapness, availability and reputation for being harmless, officials and anti-drug campaigners say, http://www.cheaptomsoutlet0.com - cheap toms shoes . Reliable figures on usage are not available because of the variety of kinds of spice on offer and the lack of official studies on the phenomenon. Pushers sell bags of spice for less than $15, in schools or online, from bulletproof cars and shops with barred windows and metal doors. Their phone numbers are often scrawled on walls or sidewalks, or printed on business cards that carry messages such as "100 percent harmless smoking mix" and "Smoke and go to paradise." Some pushers never see their customers and text message the whereabouts of a spice stash after getting a money transfer. Spice is mass produced in China and Southeast Asia and exported to Russia as bath salts, http://www.cheaptomsoutlet0.com - toms shoes reviews , incense and slimming additives, often in mail packages. Ivanov, http://www.cheaptomsoutlet0.com - toms shoes coupon , who heads Russia's Federal Drug Control Agency, said fighting spice is nearly impossible, because banning one or more ingredients means manufacturers simply change the molecular structure of the chemicals or replace the herbs to skirt the law. "There are 900 versions of it, and every week they come up with a new one," Ivanov told The Associated Press. And that's where the masked men with hammers come in. The Anti-Drugs Special Forces, widely known by their Russian acronym, MAS, was formed last year and includes dozens of activists in Moscow, many of them with a background in martial arts. Leaders say the group gets funding from donors and small city-run construction projects that its volunteers work on. And the group has its own formula for hunting down spice traders. They track down a pusher. One of them uses a hidden camera to videotape a "control purchase." And then a dozen or more attack, while one or two of them shoot video. They sometimes face no resistance from lone pushers who beg to be released and swear never to sell spice anymore. Other times, they fail to break into their fortified shops, leaving after painting the doors and bullet-proof windows w
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