THE results of the latest study conducted by the Ifc-Cnr, Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Councilare very worrying: the consumption, better the abuse, of drugs by adolescents, in particular psychotropic drugs, without prescription, has increased. Furthermore, the average age at which teenagers approach certain substances has dropped, between 13-14 years. What is happening to the younger ones?
Young people and drugs: when the transgression goes to the pharmacy
“Psychiatric drugs are the new transgression for young people and represent the new frontier of abuse. Already the fact of entering a pharmacy with a false prescription is in itself a transgressive act for a thirteen year old, “he explains Luca Proietti, psychiatrist and psychotherapist.
According to the data ofEuropean Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction, between 2005 and 2018 730 new psychoactive substances entered the market including opiates, synthetic cannabinoids and stimulants such as amphetamines. In particular, among the synthetic opiates, the most used in Italy is codeine, which should only be sold with a prescription.
«It is also very widespread the abuse of anxiolytics and benzodiazepines that young people often find even at hometherefore without the need to go to the pharmacy ».
Anxiolytics and benzodiazepines, why are they so common and how do they work?
Available in tablets or drops, the diffusion of benzodiazepines is so massive because they are rather accepted by society “They are psychotropic drugs whose use has been socially accepted and are no longer stigmatizednot only because they treat rather common problems such as anxiety or insomnia, but above all for their formulation which causes fewer side effects than previous versions ».
In reality though this category of drugs is addictive «In fact, they act on the same neurotransmitter as alcohol. Therefore if it is true that it lowers the level of anxiety on the other hand, it leads to disinhibition, and therefore to the “high” that young people seek, up to sedation in cases of excessive consumption. To this is added the subsequent chemical dependence but also psychology precisely because of this characteristic ».
Anxiolytics, sleeping pills, antidepressants, mood stabilizers and psychotropic drugs in general are therefore the new drugs, easier to find and less expensive, for younger people.
The role of families
What role do parents play in all of this? “Unfortunately, the family often does not have the tools to realize this. But the problem touches on different aspects. Even the emergency room, the first place a teenager goes after such abuse, is not always equipped to deal with certain issues. Added to this is that adults often find it difficult to relate to adolescents, and this is a fact that has always existed, a discourse that also applies to teachers. Whoever approaches and is accepted by teenagers is usually a charismatic person, a characteristic that can be lacking in adults ».
Not to mention, as the expert continues, that we are now also living in a historical moment in which everything has been cleared through customs and that even certain abuses have been accepted by the company transforming what was once considered transgressive into something accepted.
How to get out?
“First of all not identifying the problem as depression, a way of not really seeing the situation and not identifying it. In this case, in fact, several factors are intertwined: the lack of a charismatic figure in the life of a teenager which also gives him a direction in life, making him understand that “it can be done” even without the abuse of these substances. Especially in this period, teenagers see adults as struggling and not always living in a satisfactory way. Hence the idea of considering drugs as a moment of detachment from the complications of life. It is therefore essential to make them understand that this is not the case “.
To this is then added the search for a leader, usually identified in his own group of friends who pushes to transgress in order to be accepted. The real reason behind this abuse.
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