Concern about addicts to contribute to drug prevention effectively

Drug addicts - the demand for drugs is on the rise, and if the social community does not help them, it is likely that more drug crime will arise. In fact, drug addicts are still able to give up drugs and live, work, study normally, to become a good citizen for society, so the community should not discriminate and abandon them. Regarding this issue, the Customs Newspaper correspondent had a talk with Ms. Khuat Thi Hai Oanh (photo), Director of the Center of Supporting Community and Development Initiatives (SCDI).

From your point of view, what is the cause of the rapid increase in drug addiction, especially synthetic drugs in the group of young people?

The objective reason for the increase of drugs, especially synthetic drugs with young users, is that in the current social conditions, parents do not have time to be close to them, understand their children’s mind, emotions and psychological development. Many youths are living in unhappy, incomplete families, and many of them also live with violence and sexual abuse. The subjective reason is that some teenagers do not intentionally use these substances, but because of encouragement from their friends, desire to prove themselves to their friends, they use it innocently.

In addition, some others are curious about the taste of drugs so they want to try. Curiosity and ignorance causes many unfortunate consequences later on. Moreover, the synthetic drugs are easy to try, easy to use and suitable for the fun and exciting atmosphere at the entertainment spots for young people, such as at bars, karaoke and discotheques.

To reduce the number of drug addicts, the number of new addicts must firstly be reduced. Thus, the "prevention of addiction" is believed to play a decisive role in limiting drug harm to the community, what is your point about this?

Prevention activities play a very important role in addressing the social, physical and mental health issues that are directly related to drugs. Studies have shown that prevention programs not only prevent the addictive substances abuse, but also are a very cost-effective way to solve the negative effects from social problems, such as drugs addiction.

Studies have found that with the prevention of addictive substances abuse, the benefits obtained exceed the cost by at least two times. In the United States, for every dollar spent on substance abuse prevention, 2 USD to 20 USD is saved on social welfare. As a result, the world's leading health experts recommend changing the focus of the disease to prevention and health. Effective "prevention" needs the unanimity of policy makers, managers, and in particular, those who work in the field of health, social services and education with the subjects themselves who are exposed and use drugs.

An important element in prevention is to increase awareness for each individual in the community; equip them with knowledge and skills to help them proactively face the difficulties and temptations of life. For example, with drug issues, it is important to understand the underlying causes of drug use in order to have a thorough intervention.

In the past, there was a misunderstanding about the nature of drug addiction, suggesting that drug addicts have a lack of morality and willpower. This misconception shapes society's reaction to treating drug addicts as moral degenerates, rather than as a medical problem. Then, it leads to bias in terms of "threat and punishment" rather than prevention and treatment. Facts and results of scientific research have also proven that drug detoxification models with forced abstinence and punishment have not been effective in helping drug addicts give up drugs and reintegrate into the community.

So, to the best of your knowledge, in order to help the community to have a more objective, sympathetic view about drug addicts, what measures need to be taken in the short and long term?

For a long time, society considered drug addicts as a bad part of society. They are labeled as "theft, robbery or imprisonment"; they are not working, lazy. Therefore, people tend to be fearful and on the lookout for drug addicts. Recently, many studies have shown that drug addiction is a chronic disease caused by brain disorders - a disease that can be cured and needs long-term treatment. Therefore, communication messages should be clear and accurate so that people do not misunderstand, and to encourage the community to share and help drug addicts regain their life again, and not abandon them.

For young people, it is necessary to promote propaganda and education activities in schools, because these subjects are not really mature, self-interested, vulnerable to psychological and sensitive to new things. Therefore, the media content should provide sufficient knowledge for young people to help them understand and build their own skills to prevent drug harm. At the same time, through the schools, organize field trips to visit drug addiction treatment centers, watch documentary films about the effects of drugs, discuss with real drug addicts.

For families, parents need to regularly update drug-related information to equip them with knowledge about the harms of different drugs, notably disguised drugs (shisha, funky ball). In addition, each family should be guided to detect drug users to prevent timely and take appropriate and flexible measures, especially for students. In addition, it is necessary to promote the target of building cultural residential areas, saying "no" to drugs, creating a collective strength in drug prevention.

With the proper orientation of the Party and the State, the active participation of the media, as well as from the family and the whole of society, drug addicts will be seen in the right and most objective way. From there, they will be able to access effective solutions to improve their social function, to give up drugs and to integrate with the community, thereby contributing to the removal of important links in the drug prevention and control.

Thank you very much!