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DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

Problems with drugs and alcohol

With the use of alcohol and drugs comes a variety of problems. This is especially seen among the youth within the European Union. There is a rising use of drugs and a larger amount of young adults who feel like they have to drink to be socially accepted. The problem with the use of drugs and alcohol, is that it can cause addictions that can harm your health, both mentally and physically. 1,4% of drug users die every year from an overdose while 0,03% of alcohol users pass away.

Percentages of the different drugs that are used

Even though drugs are illegal in most EU countries there is still a considerable amount of young adults that consume them. It’s consumed less than alcohol, that’s probably because the damage from harder drugs is much worse and seen after fewer consumptions. The consequences could be an addiction that eventually would lead to emotional changes, psychoses or physical and mental development problems if consumed at a young age.

Another reason could be that drugs aren't as socially accepted as alcohol. You can buy alcohol legally when you are 16 or 18 in Europe, depending on your nationality, in every supermarket. This makes it easily accessible, even for teens underage. That results in alcohol becoming a social norm already from a young age because alcohol is legal, people think it is less dangerous. If you refuse to become a part of this trend, you can often feel like you are left out of the group or social arrangements. It has become so rare to be in a social gathering without alcohol that when it’s not included it’s harder to have fun. When alcohol is consumed often and in larger amounts, it can affect you and cause long term damages such as changes in behavior that eventually will affect those you surround yourself with. Your physical health can be damaged too.

In the second picture it’s seen that Europe is the part of the world that consumes the largest amount of alcohol per person.

Drug use in the European Union 2021 | StatistaCannabis is by far the most used drug across the population of the European Union, with over a quarter using at some point during in lifetime.

Alcohol ConsumptionWho consumes the most alcohol? How has consumption changed over time? And what are the health impacts?

Solutions

As mentioned earlier, alcohol and drug -use or abuse is a problem in terms of health and therefore there is a need for solutions. A lot of nations try to do their best for their population. But what solution works the best and where should one intervene in the problem? Should drugs be made legal as an attempt to control the market? Or is the solution to punish addicts and dealers? Should countries/nations be focusing more on the rehabilitation of the addicts, to make them feel safe and secure enough to get help? It is not certain who shall solve the problem because no one claims the responsibility. It could be the parents, the police, the government etc.

We think that the government should recognize that the law concerning drugs and alcohol isn't currently working, try to change things up and make better initiatives. A possible solution could be to change the law as the government did in Portugal and Uruguay. The percentages of the use of drugs and alcohol would go down. In Portugal, they decided to decriminalize drugs in 2001. That means that people don’t get punished for possessing small amounts and using them. Dealers still get prison sentences.

Programs for addicts were funded. The government also made campaigns to change the public seeing addicts as sick people who need help instead of criminals. After it was implicated, it has shown good results in the amount of drug use. Big names like WHO have complimented it.

Both the use of MDMA and Amphetamines in portugal has fallen drastically since 2001.

Statistics also show that if the parents of the child talk to them and make rules concerning alcohol and drugs, they are less likely to go overboard or lose control. So, in conclusion, there are a lot things that can be done to create a better drinking and drug-use culture. What was done in Portugal is one example of a nation taking action against this problem. We think that all the EU countries should do something too, not necessarily legalise cannabis, but at least pursue a lower percentage of addicts in general.

Sources:

https://videnskab.dk/kultur-samfund/afkriminalisering-af-stoffer-er-en-stor-succes-i-portugal -

Danish https://kar.kent.ac.uk/29901/1/Hughes%20%20Stevens%202012.pdf - English

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