Drug abuse

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Learn what governments commited to in 1995: The World Programme of Action for Youth on Drug Abuse (A/RES/50/81)
F. Drug abuse

73. The vulnerability of young people to drug abuse has in recent years become a major concern. The consequences of widespread drug abuse and trafficking, particularly for young men and women, are all too apparent. Violence, particularly street violence, often results from drug abuse and illicit drug networks.

74. As the number of psychotropic drugs increases steadily and their effects and appropriate prescriptive uses are often not fully known, some patients may not be adequately treated and others may become over-medicated. Abuse of prescription drugs, self-medication with tranquillizers, sleeping-pills and stimulants can also create serious problems, particularly in countries and regions where distribution controls are weak and habit-forming drugs are purchased abroad or diverted from licit channels of distribution. In this context, the vulnerability of young people raises a particular problem and specific measures are therefore needed.

75. The international community places particular emphasis on reducing the demand for and supply of illegal drugs and preventing abuse. Supply reduction includes combating international illicit drug trafficking. Drug abuse prevention initiatives range from discouraging people from taking drugs, thus preventing involuntary addiction, to helping those who are abusing drugs to stop doing so. Treatment programmes need to recognize that drug abuse is a chronic relapsing condition. It is essential for programmes to be adapted to the social and cultural context and for there to be effective cooperation between various approaches to treatment. To this end, national initiatives and measures to combat illicit drug trafficking should be fully supported and reinforced at the regional and international levels.

76. Drug control strategies at the national and international levels consistently emphasize initiatives aimed at reducing drug abuse among young people. This is reflected in the resolutions of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and in the demand reduction programmes of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme.

Proposals for action

1. Participation of youth organizations and youth in demand reduction programmes for young people

77. To be effective, demand reduction programmes should be targeted at all young people, particularly those at risk, and the content of the programmes should respond directly to the interests and concerns of those young people. Preventive education programmes showing the dangers of drug abuse are particularly important. Increasing opportunities for gainful employment and activities which provide recreation and opportunities to develop a variety of skills are important in helping young people to resist drugs. Youth organizations can play a key role in designing and implementing education programmes and individual counselling to encourage the integration of youth into the community, to develop healthy lifestyles and to raise awareness of the damaging impact of drugs. The programmes could include training of youth leaders in communication and counselling skills.

78. Government entities, in cooperation with relevant agencies of the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations, particularly youth organizations, should cooperate in carrying out demand reduction programmes for illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol.

2. Training medical and paramedical students in the rational use of pharmaceuticals containing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances

79. The World Health Organization, associations of the medical, paramedical and pharmaceutical professions and pharmaceutical corporations and medical faculties and institutions could be asked to develop model training courses and disseminate information material for young medical and paramedical students on the proper handling of drugs and the early identification and diagnosis of substance abuse.

3. Treatment and rehabilitation of young people who are drug abusers or drug-dependent and young alcoholics and tobacco users

80. Research has been undertaken into the possibility of identifying medication to block cravings for specific drugs without creating secondary dependency, but much remains to be done in this area. The need for medical and social research in the prevention and treatment of substance abuse as well as rehabilitation, has become more urgent, particularly with the world-wide increase in abuse and addiction among young people. In such research, emphasis should be given to the fact that intravenous substance abuse raises the risk of contracting communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, arising from the sharing of needles and other injection equipment. The fruits of all such research should be shared globally.

81. Research on issues such as the medical treatment and the rehabilitation of young drug abusers, including the combination of different types of treatment, the problem of recidivism and the administrative aspects of drug treatment, and the inclusion of students in the relevant faculties in such research, should be encouraged.

82. In cooperation with the institutions of civil society and the private sector, drug abuse prevention should be promoted, as should preventive education for children and youth and rehabilitation and education programmes for former drug and alcohol addicts, especially children and youth, in order to enable them to obtain productive employment and achieve the independence, dignity and responsibility for a drug-free, crime-free productive life. Of particular interest is the development of treatment techniques involving the family setting and peer groups. Young people can make significant contributions by participating in peer group therapy to facilitate the acceptance of young drug-dependent persons and abusers upon their re-entry into society. Direct participation in rehabilitation therapy entails close cooperation between youth groups and other community and health services. The World Health Organization and other world-wide medical and mental health organizations could be requested to set guidelines for continuing research and for carrying out comparable programmes in different settings, whose effectiveness could be evaluated over a given period of time. 4. Care for young drug abusers and drug-dependent suspects and offenders in the criminal justice and prison system

83. Authorities should consider strategies to prevent exposure to drug abuse and dependence among young people suspected or convicted of criminal offences. Such strategies could include alternative measures, such as daily reporting to police stations, regular visits to parole officers or the fulfilment of a specified number of hours of community service.

84. Prison authorities should cooperate closely with law enforcement agencies to keep drugs out of the prison system. Prison personnel should be discouraged from tolerating the presence of drugs in penal institutions.

85. Young prisoners who are already drug-dependent should be targeted as priority candidates for treatment and rehabilitation services and should be segregated as appropriate. Guidelines and standard minimum rules should be prepared to assist national authorities in law enforcement and prison systems in maintaining the necessary controls and initiating treatment and rehabilitation services. Action along these lines constitutes a long-term advantage to society, as the cycle of dependence, release, repeated offences and repeated incarcerations constitutes a heavy burden on the criminal justice system, quite apart from the wasted lives and personal tragedies which result from drug dependence and criminal behaviour.

World Youth Report 2005

2. Drugs

68. Adolescence is a period characterized by a search for independence from parents and other adults, seeking close friendships with peers and experimentation with a range of ideas, products and lifestyles. This experimentation sometimes involves taking increased risks and making choices and compromises as well as taking advantage of opportunities that may lead to uncertain outcomes. The use of drugs, tobacco and alcohol may become a means of escaping from situations that youth often feel powerless to change.

69. Tobacco use is one of the chief preventable causes of death in the world. There are an estimated 1 billion smokers in the world today. By 2030, another billion young adults will have started to smoke.24 The highest rates of smoking among youth are in developing countries. There are fewer women smokers than men, but the number of young women taking up cigarettes is growing. The higher level of tobacco use among girls suggests that there is a need for specific policies and programmes for girls to counteract marketing strategies that target young women by associating tobacco use with independence, glamour and romance.

70. It appears that young people in many countries are beginning to drink alcohol at earlier ages. Research in developed countries has found early initiation of alcohol use to be associated with a greater likelihood of both alcohol dependence and alcohol-related injury later in life. Boys are more likely than girls to drink alcohol and to drink heavily. However, in several European countries, levels of drinking among young women have started to equal, or even surpass, those of young men. Data on drinking among young people in developing countries are relatively scarce. Some studies point to an increase in drinking in Latin American countries, especially among young women.

71. Despite efforts to restrict the advertising and marketing of alcohol and tobacco in industrialized countries, the youth market remains a major focus of the alcohol and tobacco industries. Recent curbs on such marketing in industrialized countries have led these companies to increasingly concentrate on young people in developing countries and countries in transition, where many protective measures have not yet been taken, and where, unfortunately, fewer health and safety protections are available to young people.

72. Growing alcohol and drug abuse in many countries has contributed to high mortality and the increased risk of contracting HIV among children and young people. In some Central Asian countries, the proportion of the population who inject drugs is estimated to be up to 10 times higher than that in many Western European countries. In Central Asia and Eastern Europe, up to 25 per cent of those who inject drugs are estimated to be less than 20 years of age, and the use of all types of drugs has increased significantly among young people across the region since the early 1990s.25 Smoking has risen as well among both boys and girls. Survey data show that 6 in 10 15-year-old boys in some countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States reported having been drunk on at least two occasions in 2001.

73. Of all illicit substances listed in international drug control treaties, cannabis is by far the most widely and most frequently used, especially among young people. However, the upward trend flattened in many countries in Europe over the last few years, and in 2003, for the first time in a decade, there was a net decline in cannabis use in some of these countries. In some Asian countries, data show that increasing numbers of young women are using illicit drugs. Female injecting drug users are increasingly involved in the sex trade. In some Asian countries, the age of initiation of drug use is declining.

74. A major change since the adoption of the World Programme of Action is the emergence of abuse of synthetic drugs. Despite efforts by many countries to limit the availability of amphetamine-type stimulants, there has been increased availability of a number of newer synthetic drugs. In most countries, stimulants such as ecstasy are consumed by young people in a recreational setting, often linked to dance events. In developing countries, such consumption is mainly associated with youth with high income, while in developed countries consumption is spread across all social classes. There are indications that ecstasy use among young adults continues to rise.

75. In the formulation of prevention strategies, the relationship and linkages between the consumption of different types of drugs, alcohol and tobacco should be reconsidered. For programmes and policies to be effective and credible in preventing drug abuse, particularly long-term and high risk drug-taking, they must take into account and address the underlying factors that cause young people to initiate drug abuse.

76. A more comprehensive approach to drug policy would increase restrictions on the marketing of tobacco and alcohol and emphasize demand reduction efforts that appeal to youth. Demand reduction is a critical component in any drug control strategy, and national efforts should promote healthy lifestyles and education in collaboration with young people and their communities.

77. Special strategies are needed for youth at high risk of abusing drugs. They should include youth from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, refugees and displaced persons, injecting drug users and sex workers. Initiatives to address drug use must take place within the overall strategy to reduce poverty, increase social inclusion across all sectors in society and make the benefits of economic growth accessible to all. Prevention and treatment interventions at the community level, as well as policies setting minimum drinking age laws and taxation on alcohol have proven effective in some countries.

78. Taxation may be an effective means to reduce youth alcohol consumption. Young drinkers tend to have limited budgets and their alcohol consumption is sensitive to price changes. Increases in alcohol taxes in some developed countries, along with other preventive measures, have been shown to be effective in reducing drinking and the potentially harmful consequences of drinking, such as traffic casualties and violence.

Footnotes:

24. See P. R. Lopez, "Future worldwide health effects of current smoking patterns", in C. E. Koop and M. R. Shwarz, eds., Critical Issues in Global Health (San Francisco, 2001).
25. See UNAIDS and Development Cooperation Ireland, "Breaking the barriers, partnership to fight HIV/AIDS in Europe and Central Asia", paper presented at a ministerial conference, Dublin, 23 and 24 February 2004.