Contact with drugs generally occurs at adolescence, in this wonderful period during which a child develops his direct contact with the world, wonderful, but difficult, firstly because he will be exposed to the consequences of his experiences without the loving protection of his parents.

Parents have the arduous task of accompanying adolescents on their path to independence, notably by informing them of the dangers related to drug consumption and clearly establishing acceptable limits for them.

While noone can disagree that the love and attention of parents is fundamental for the child to develop with confidence, this role of protection and guardianship should not cease at adolescence, so as to avoid and if necessary detect all addiction problems.

In all cases, the establishment and preservation of dialogue between parents/adolescents is of primary importance, because nobody is in a better position to guide their children than loving parents.

How can we help a drug addict break his habit?

There are several stages of dependency, but as soon as a drug addict has a regular need for a drug and suffers when he does not take it, dependency is established.

The most serious forms are those related to hard drugs.

To efficiently deal with the matter of withdrawal, it is fundamental to be aware that a drug addict cannot be forced to stop consuming. If he has not decided on his own to stop taking drugs and does not participate actively in withdrawal, all rehabilitation measures are doomed to failure.

In order to be successfully rehabilitated, a drug addict needs to be helped, followed up on, even before he decides to stop taking drugs. Access to sterile syringes, substitute products, care, listening and shelter structures are a pre-requisite to help them not cut themselves off for good from society.

Someone who has turned to drug abuse suffers from serious physical, psychic and social problems, has lost all or part of his confidence, not only in himself, but in all prospects for the future. The mission of service officials and/or associations is to enable him to change his vision and believe that he can get there and live happily.

When a drug addict is convinced that he can successfully be rehabilitated, long-term follow-up will guarantee the best chances of success for him. Western statistics show that most of them need to try several times to stop, but they will get there.

However, there is no substitute for efficient information and prevention, because children should be fully protected from taking drugs.

This case file is dedicated to all children suffering from drug abuse and particularly Rainer, a teenager who died following an overdose...

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The word "drug" is generally described as a natural or synthetic substance with psychotropic effects that is used with the aim of feeling pleasure and which will create dependency for its consumer. This dependency is established as in fact after a while, it is difficult to stop consuming this substance.

In this case file, we will exclusively talk about products whose consumption and sale are legally forbidden, according to a list which may vary greatly depending on the country. Readers will therefore understand that a product described here as a drug may be classified differently in their countries, because legislation in this domain is not identical throughout the planet.

A significant distinction must be made about "legal drugs", tobacco, alcohol and certain medication, because their consumption can produce similar effects to drugs termed as "illegal". On the subject of the dangers linked to cigarettes, see the case file focusing on this subject.

Examples of drugs

This generic term groups together several substances with varied effects:

Cannabis, Cocaine, Glue, Hallucinogenic Mushrooms, Crack, Ecstasy, Heroin, LSD, Solvents; these are all written with a capital letter because their consumption is dangerous.

How do people become drug addicts?

Addictions always start with "trying out" something which seems to have no consequences. Generally a friend offers the child the opportunity to try out a certain product. At this time, it rarely consists of drugs considered to be "hard" drugs, and often cannabis is the first to be tried out.

The pleasant effects that the child feels, combined with a festive feeling, which is generally the scope of his first contact with the drug, will incite him to try it again.

The frequency varies a lot from one individual to another, factors such as timidity, a lack of confidence in self, a certain discontentment or a difficult personal or family situation, etc. can markedly increase consumption. However, at this stage, the child no longer feels he is in danger, because he thinks he can stop consuming the drugs at any time.

But even though the choice to stop effectively exists for most children who know how to control themselves, numerous others are gradually going to slide into a state of dependency which is going to lead them to consume more and more, then gradually the effects they are seeking will diminish as they become accustomed to it, they increase the doses, use several substances and finally try increasingly ‘harder’ drugs.

This irrepressible desire for drugs that are increasingly expensive and a danger to their personal development will push certain children to do illegal things so as to be able to fund the cost of their consumption. The state of loss for them justifies all the mistakes and desocialises them more and more.

Not to mention the effect on their health.

Comment: the constant increase in alcohol consumption among children (Remember, the Convention considers all human beings aged less than 18 years old to be children) and their significant effects on the body encourages drug taking, as it breaks the taboo of "forbidden or dangerous products".