Health Minister Alexandru Rafila says that statistics compiled at the ministry level show that last year psychiatric hospitals received more than 1,700 cases that were considered urgent due to drug use. Rafila believes that the real number of those who need help is higher, but they are reluctant and do not go to a doctor, because Romanian law criminalizes the use of drugs, News.ro notes. Rafila believes that the only cases where opioid use should be encouraged are in “serious” medical cases, such as cancer patients.

Answering on Tuesday evening on the air of the TVR Info program about the extent to which the medical system is ready to provide assistance to drug users, the minister explained that emergency cases are taken over.

According to the Minister of Health, more than 1,700 emergency cases related to drug use were registered last year. According to him, this figure is only a fraction of the actual number of people who would need help after using drugs.

• “Last year there were more than 1,700 emergencies, we have an annual consumer situation. I believe that this is only a part of those that are actually there, because some do not speak up, I hide it, the fact that this use, possession and use of drugs is a criminal proceeding can lead to reluctance, and you speak out very late, when things are quite advanced.’
• “Here, I think we still have a lot of work to do because decriminalization is important, drug use should not be encouraged in any way, and we both have opinions here. You have seen that there are colleagues in the parliament who promoted the law on the use of cannabis. I have no problem using opioids for serious medical reasons. “Cancer patients are given these opioids for pain relief, but as long as they don’t refuse — for example, cannabis is one of the substances that is consumed quite often — more are choosing to go into that situation, I don’t know if that’s the best thing,” said Alexander Rafila.

According to him, the statistics show that there are mainly two categories of users: those who have a lot of money and the very poor, who use psychoactive substances with “devastating effects” and which “quickly lead to disability or death.” .

Rafila said that as far as the fight against drug use is concerned, “action must be tailored to each of these areas.”

In Romania, young people start using drugs at the age of 13

The latest statistics on drug use in Romania show that in 2021, almost 17% of people aged 15 to 34 used at least one type of drug, and this percentage has been steadily increasing in recent years.

The director of the National Narcotics Agency (ANA), Ramona Dabija, says the youngest reported age of drug use is 13.

Constant growth of consumption

Data for 2021 (the latest available) show that the number of drug users in Romania is constantly increasing. 16.9% of people aged 15 to 34 have used illicit substances in their lifetime, 10% have used in the last year and 6.6% in the last month alone, which is 1.4 times more than in the previous study. note the authors from ANA.

The most consumed drug in Romania is cannabis. Every tenth young person (aged 15 to 34) has used cannabis at least once in their life.

“8.7% of 16-year-olds have used marijuana in their lifetime, 7.2% have used it in the past year, and 3.3% of them have also used it in the past month. 1% of students started using marijuana at age 13 or earlier,” the study says.

Illegal “legals”.

According to the quoted source, the most consumed psychoactive substances are the so-called “legal”, that is, those types of drugs that are manufactured in underground laboratories.

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are chemicals made in underground laboratories that have far worse health effects than traditional drugs, experts say. The category of new psychoactive substances includes synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones.

NSPs were designed to produce psychoactive effects without being subject to legislation or national control due to the substances they contain and the dynamics of their occurrence.

The effects of these substances are similar to the effects of classic drugs that directly affect the brain. These include loss of identity, hallucinations, decreased attention and memory, combined with side effects such as anxiety, dizziness, confusion, insomnia, depression, headaches and severe panic attacks, increased heart rate and blood pressure.

“Drugs everywhere”

“Drugs are everywhere, they’re a reality, and that’s what we’re trying to convey to parents. First of all, children learn about the classic drugs that are in the movies, if we talk about cannabis, what do we talk about cocaine, heroin, that everyone knows these three, given that they have been talked about a lot. Instead, among the most consumed are these NSPs, legal, with double quotes, because they are actually synthetic substances, synthetic drugs, made in a laboratory and containing all kinds of chemical compounds that can dress up in all kinds of forms, from bath salts, to plant fertilizers, to medicines, to pills,” explained ANA Director Ramona Dabija.

Synthetic drugs are difficult to recognize, explains Ramona Dabija.

“It can be in the form of a cookie or in the form of jelly, it can be in the form of a cigarette or it can be in any other form. They have a white-brown color, have no smell and taste, and then you don’t notice it. But the difference between bad drugs and good drugs, if you will, is money and how much money the kid has on hand. Because if he has money, he will go for more classic drugs, if not, he will take these NSPs,” the director believes.

No less dangerous are medicines that are taken without a doctor’s prescription, in particular paracetamol in combination with other substances. Cough syrup, energy boosters, even banana peels and acetone are readily available and can be psychoactive when combined with other substances.

“For two seconds, it gives them a sense of well-being that they are invincible. Negative side effects, including behavioral or mood changes such as euphoria, confusion, agitation, acute psychosis, aggressive, violent, and self-destructive behavior. Toxic effects associated with the consumption of this substance include hypertension, hyperthermia, sweating, headaches, palpitations, convulsions, hallucinations and paranoid episodes,” says Ramona Dabija.

It is a shame to go to a psychologist or psychiatrist

The ANA recommends that parents keep an open mind with their children and be aware of any changes in behavior as these may indicate that the young person is not feeling well.

“Know that every time we go with the kids and the kids come, contrary to appearances, they come to the National Drug Enforcement Agency, because a lot of the prescriptions (ed.: for drugs) know what they’re telling us too , that it is still practiced among them,” asserts Dabija.

Young people can attend drug information sessions, but after the first three sessions they need parental consent, causing children to stop attending the sessions.

“The National Anti-Drug Agency has a program aimed at adolescents at risk of drug use or adolescent users. They can come to the information session three times without their parents’ consent. The fourth time the father also has to come, and often we stop here, because parents often refuse to provide specialized help to the child, because in Romania it is still a shame to go to a psychologist or a psychiatrist,” he told HotNews. .ro ANA Directorate.

Ramona Dabija also said that the ANA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, is working on a procedure to create a “safety net around children” when it comes to drug use. She emphasizes the importance of parents talking to their children, and notes that teachers should also report when they see changes in a child’s behavior.

• Read also: “You contact the dealer through someone else. It is transmitted like this, from mouth to mouth” / In Romania, young people start using drugs from the age of 13