C.goose and crack substances more used, less and less use of syringes, but the request for help for minors is constantly growing. This, in summary, is the photograph of the Addiction Observatory of San Patrignano 2022, based on the toxicological analysis of the 327 people (only 55 women and 272 men) who entered the community between May 2021 and April 2022.
More cocaine and fewer syringes are used
“Among those who have entered the community”, explains Virgilio Albertini, who is in charge of new entrances (on the increase) in the recovery community of Coriano, “the cocaine remains the most used substance, equal to 94.8%, followed by cannabis89%, while heroin it stood at 42.2% “. Injection use is continuously decreasing, equal to only 22% among new entrants, and constantly decreasing compared to the past (considering that in 2015 the use of substances by injection was still 42%).
Crack users, or smoked cocaine, are also included in the data on cocaine users: «A substance that is definitely on the rise, and this is worrying. While snorted cocaine can be consumed in a controlled way and in a playful and not daily context, with crack it is easy for addiction to get out of hand immediately, and consumption becomes lonely and uncontrolled.: you buy and assume, until it ends ».
Crack, the drug of the moment
Crack was originally conceived and synthesized for a very specific purpose. Was intended for chronic cocaine addicts as a substitute for cocaine, as the nasal intake caused the destruction of the nasal tissues. The only alternative mode of administration was through inhalation.
Continued and prolonged consumption can lead to alienation with symptoms similar to schizophrenia, severe aggression or paranoid states accompanied by delusions and hallucinations. Death can usually occur from overdose (800 mg is enough), from heat stroke and respiratory and / or cardiac arrest, as well as from stroke or heart attack.
Synthetic drugs on the decline. Thanks to Covid?
Slightly decreasing synthetic drugs“perhaps due to the pandemic, since they are drugs usually consumed in clubs or during raves which have been more difficult to organize“. Ecstasy is used by 44%, and slightly exceeds heroin, amphetamines at 26.6%, ketamine at 25.7% and hallucinogens at 26.9%. Given these percentages it is easy to guess that polydrug use affects most of the newcomers (85.7%), a constant figure from 2015 to today, since it has never been below 85%. It should be emphasized that 35.5% of new entrants did a pathological use of alcohol and 33% were accustomed to the practice of bindge drinking.
More and more minor dependents. Advice for parents
It should be noted that among the 327 new entries in the period under consideration, 102 are under 25, while the most present group is between 26 and 35 years old. As many as 33 (10%) are minorsincluding 15 girls and 18 boys, including a 12 year old. Four of them were already addicted to heroin, most of them had tried cocaine and almost all of them smoked cannabis. “Cannabis, like alcohol, can indeed be an experience without serious consequences in a transition phase of adolescence”, continues Albertini: “But it is not uncommon for it to become a real addiction”. Difficult for parents to intercept symptoms before they become severe.
“The relationship of mutual trust must be established from childhood in order to withstand the shocks of adolescence”, continues the San Patrignano referent. “Otherwise you may find yourself disarmed in front of a child who, for example, constantly changes mood and leaves school: behaviors typical of those facing drug addiction“.
The refrain has already been heard: even children from good families take drugs. “That’s true, sure. Similarly, three children can be raised, and only one can develop an addiction. It means that the same educational model, good for some, doesn’t work for everyone. The task of the parents is to turn to each one for what he is ».
Drugs in the life of fathers and mothers
Of the 327 people who entered San Patrignano, 61 left at least one child at home. There are 51 fathers and 10 mothers. Finally, the problem of children who have at least one of the two parents struggling or with an addiction behind them, 20% of the total, is not new.
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