Actually, after completing high school B, I could have continued with a successful internship. Instead, consumption dominated his life: the young man began to abuse strong painkillers, sleeping pills and tranquilizers – and drank alcohol and cocaine. He traded, quit his internship several times, was caught injecting and became unemployed. Nowadays he lives on an IV pension and with his mother.
At the age of 22, he finally admitted himself to the Arud Center for Addiction Medicine in Zurich. He is trying to slowly reduce his substance use. At the same time, he increasingly experiences anxiety and panic disorders.
His story is not an isolated one. Drug abuse among young people was recorded in figures for the first time this year by Addiction Switzerland as part of the “National Student Study”. According to this study, 4 percent of 15-year-olds have used a drug to get high at least once in their lives.
“I probably know twenty to thirty people who eat something regularly. You just notice that,” says a young man in his early twenties who does not consume himself and wants to remain anonymous – let’s call him Dominik here. “Ritalin, Xanax, cough syrup,” he lists. All medicines that fall under the Narcotics Act.
According to Addiction Switzerland, the mixed consumption of medicines and alcohol is particularly striking, which is even more popular among girls (9 percent) than boys (5 percent). Since 2018, more than thirty young people in Switzerland have died from this dangerous mix.
According to experts, consumption is also fueled by role models from the German rap scene, where consumption is often trivialized and normalized in lyrics and videos. For example, in the song “Pill Popper” by rapper Negatiiv OG, where it says: “Come here and pop pills, I’m a role model… Give me the benzo. I fuck my ass without inhibition.”
A research team led by Corina Salis Gross of the University of Zurich sheds light on mixed consumption in an ongoing study in which they ask adolescents and young adults about their motives for consumption, among other things. A preliminary data analysis with 60 participants showed that they usually combine the substances ‘because it is fun and feels good’. Some also mix the substances because it helps them to be more relaxed and less shy, and to relieve anxiety or other negative feelings.
The amazing thing is that the drugs end up so easily in the hands of young people. But in the age of social media, this is a simple game, as Dominik says. As easy as ordering a pizza. The fabrics and associated price lists are presented in chats on Telegram and other social networks. You choose, pay off your debts – often with cryptocurrency to be sure – and the substance ends up in the mailbox a few days later or is handed over at the agreed meeting point.
A self-experiment shows that searching for corresponding Telegram chats from Switzerland takes less than five minutes. It’s like a market there. The dealers announce: “On sale today: …” or “Best prices!” Images of drugs strung together, including Valium, Xanax and Oxycontin, flood the chats. What is striking: The prices are at least ten times higher than in the pharmacy. For example, 80 ml of Makatussin costs 8.35 francs in the pharmacy – at the dealer you can expect 130 francs. Not only the medicines themselves are sold, but also false medical certificates. An anonymous dealer asks 70 francs for a Makatussin certificate.
Whether on the internet, on the street or in schools, many things happen secretly. Jürg Wobmann, head of the Lucerne criminal investigation department, said: “According to the police’s findings, the black market is large.” But how do the medicines actually get into circulation? “Unfortunately, not all pharmacies meet their obligations or doctors generously prescribe appropriate medications,” says Wobmann. They would also be put into circulation by people who have a prescription or, for example, be stolen from the household.
While dealers are excited about the move to digital, authorities are facing new problems. Wobmann says: “Internet and social media investigations are extremely time-consuming and are becoming increasingly demanding.” This requires special software and training, but resources are limited. It is therefore clear to the head of the Lucerne criminal investigation department: “There must be clear legislation and requirements for the delivery points.”
At the Center for Addiction Medicine in Zurich, the Arud, treating physicians have been observing a sharp increase in the number of people under the age of twenty needing treatment for an opioid problem for about ten years. These are tragic cases. Thilo Beck, head of psychiatry at Arud, presented some of these at a specialist conference on mixed consumption, while maintaining anonymity.
For example, there is the student who was admitted to a psychiatric hospital at the age of 15 due to alcohol and medication use as a result of a depressed mood. In the clinic she used diaphine, pharmaceutically produced heroin, for the first time and she could not avoid it. She subsequently suffered several poisonings due to the mixed consumption of diaphine, benzodiazepines and alcohol.
Thilo Beck also describes a failed treatment attempt with a tragic ending: The mother registered her son at Arud because of benzodiazepine, diaphine and Oxycontin use, whereby opioid substitution therapy was prescribed. The patient appeared only irregularly; six months later, Arud was notified that he had died from intoxication with Xanax and fentanyl.
As Thilo Beck emphasized during the conference, consumption did not cause real problems for all consumers. This is only the case for 20 to 30 percent. Experts agree that there are only a few young people who consume problematically. But it is important to recognize them and help them. Many young people are not even aware of how dangerous consumption and especially mixed consumption can be.
However, it is often not the young people themselves who seek help. Instead, they are arrested by the police with substances and ultimately sent to addiction care by the youth lawyer. The number of questions from concerned parents has increased recently, says Tanya Mezzera, head of addiction care at Lenzburg & Wohlen. This concerns, for example, parents who have discovered a substance in their child’s trouser pocket while washing or who have heard from other parents that their child was exposed to pills. Mezzera says: “Parents faint when young people get so drunk.”
In addiction care, it is important to understand the background of consumption. Because there is usually a bigger problem behind it. Such as problems in the family or at school, psychological problems or pressure. “Consumption makes them forget all the problems of the world,” says Mezzera. Accordingly, those who use the drugs for self-medication have difficulty reducing their consumption. It is therefore important that young people learn alternative strategies for stress management and not just numb themselves. It is also important that the parents are present as such, continuously offer relationships and set guidelines.
But not all young people can or want to stop drinking. Stefanie Knocks, secretary general of the Addiction Association, writes: “We cannot close our eyes to this and leave these young people to their fate.” In this case, harm reduction messages are important. Young people need to be made aware of how dangerous mixed consumption is and that products from the Internet do not always contain what they claim. She writes: “This is also how lives are saved.”
It would be important that young people can test the substances through so-called drug control services. However, these are often not accessible to minors. The authorities and specialized departments still have to get involved in this, Knocks writes. In addition, young people generally do not consider testing prescription drugs if they are packaged – this is considered safe, as the Zurich study led by Corina Salis Gross showed.
Experts agree: more education is needed – from parents, children and drop-off points. (bzbasel.ch)
source: watson
I’m Maxine Reitz, a journalist and news writer at 24 Instant News. I specialize in health-related topics and have written hundreds of articles on the subject. My work has been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Healthline. As an experienced professional in the industry, I have consistently demonstrated an ability to develop compelling stories that engage readers.
