With new reports showing that drug use is on the rise among Algerian youth, particularly among women, activists and doctors met last week to raise awareness about the troubling trend.
By Walid Ramzi for Magharebia in Algiers – 28/02/10
Nearly half of all Algerian high school students have used drugs, according to a new report from the National Office for the Fight against Drug Addiction.
Of these young users, 8% are women. Females also account for 13% of drug users among the university-student population.
The number of adolescent drug users grew from 35% in 2007 to 45% in 2008, the February 8th study showed.
To discuss these new findings, as well as strategies to eliminate the blight of drug addiction in Algeria, the Wedadia Association for Combating Social Problems organized a two-day conference for anti-drug activists in Algiers on February 17th.
"We cannot hope to redress the problem of drug use or addiction in general without direct communication, which should reveal the actual reasons behind the aggravated social problems in Algerian society," the Algerian Organization of Youth Care Associations chief said at a post-conference press briefing.
Mr. Obaidat called for the expansion of the 2007 National Plan for Monitoring and Protection to uncover the reasons behind the spike in drug use. He also unveiled his group's new campaign to fight drugs and addiction, titled "Let Us Save One Youth through Another".
"We are hoping that 2010 will be crowned by launching a national plan, because the phenomenon of drug addiction that is daily encroaching on adolescents and youths requires extensive field efforts" across all Algerian provinces, he added.
For his part, mental health physician Dr. A. Messaoudi of the Oued Aïssi psychiatric hospital, who first presented the study findings in Tizi-Ouzou, called for a "multi-faceted approach...to help reintegrate those adolescents in society".
"Strictly applying punishments against promoters of these poisons" would help fight the spread of the scourge, Messaoudi said.
He also stressed the need for "awareness-raising campaigns on the level of the family and the school to guide drug-consuming youth".
Algeria should "introduce new activities and designated spaces for youths' benefit… that would keep them away from drugs, which they use to take them to another fantasy world", Dr. Messaoudi explained.
In 2008 alone, he noted, rehabilitation centers received 25,000 youths.
Cannabis remains the most popular drug among all youth, with 71% of all survey respondents claiming to have used it.
Ten per cent of respondents used inhalants such as glue, gasoline, paint thinners or solvents in nail polish, while 6% used psychotropic drugs such as LSD.
Of the young people questioned for the study, 35% said that they consumed drugs "out of mere curiosity or purely for fun".
"Drug use among adolescents is a complex problem," Messaoudi said, adding that at this point in their lives, as their adult personalities are forming, adolescents have a greater need to be heard and understood than to be judged and condemned.
The important thing now, the doctor added, is "to cure the evil by offering alternatives to everyday difficulties, such as employment, education and healthy recreation".
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/02/28/feature-01.
By Walid Ramzi for Magharebia in Algiers – 28/02/10
Nearly half of all Algerian high school students have used drugs, according to a new report from the National Office for the Fight against Drug Addiction.
Of these young users, 8% are women. Females also account for 13% of drug users among the university-student population.
The number of adolescent drug users grew from 35% in 2007 to 45% in 2008, the February 8th study showed.
To discuss these new findings, as well as strategies to eliminate the blight of drug addiction in Algeria, the Wedadia Association for Combating Social Problems organized a two-day conference for anti-drug activists in Algiers on February 17th.
"We cannot hope to redress the problem of drug use or addiction in general without direct communication, which should reveal the actual reasons behind the aggravated social problems in Algerian society," the Algerian Organization of Youth Care Associations chief said at a post-conference press briefing.
Mr. Obaidat called for the expansion of the 2007 National Plan for Monitoring and Protection to uncover the reasons behind the spike in drug use. He also unveiled his group's new campaign to fight drugs and addiction, titled "Let Us Save One Youth through Another".
"We are hoping that 2010 will be crowned by launching a national plan, because the phenomenon of drug addiction that is daily encroaching on adolescents and youths requires extensive field efforts" across all Algerian provinces, he added.
For his part, mental health physician Dr. A. Messaoudi of the Oued Aïssi psychiatric hospital, who first presented the study findings in Tizi-Ouzou, called for a "multi-faceted approach...to help reintegrate those adolescents in society".
"Strictly applying punishments against promoters of these poisons" would help fight the spread of the scourge, Messaoudi said.
He also stressed the need for "awareness-raising campaigns on the level of the family and the school to guide drug-consuming youth".
Algeria should "introduce new activities and designated spaces for youths' benefit… that would keep them away from drugs, which they use to take them to another fantasy world", Dr. Messaoudi explained.
In 2008 alone, he noted, rehabilitation centers received 25,000 youths.
Cannabis remains the most popular drug among all youth, with 71% of all survey respondents claiming to have used it.
Ten per cent of respondents used inhalants such as glue, gasoline, paint thinners or solvents in nail polish, while 6% used psychotropic drugs such as LSD.
Of the young people questioned for the study, 35% said that they consumed drugs "out of mere curiosity or purely for fun".
"Drug use among adolescents is a complex problem," Messaoudi said, adding that at this point in their lives, as their adult personalities are forming, adolescents have a greater need to be heard and understood than to be judged and condemned.
The important thing now, the doctor added, is "to cure the evil by offering alternatives to everyday difficulties, such as employment, education and healthy recreation".
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/02/28/feature-01.
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