The use of methamphetamines sometime in life has increased significantly over the past 10 years, from 14.8% in 2013 to 45.6% in 2023; teenagers and young people are the main consumers, they warn in a forum The National College.
Methamphetamine use has become a public health problem this is mainly due to the exponential growth it has had in recent years.
IT MAY INTEREST YOU: Methamphetamine use has increased in recent years, report says
Between 2017 and 2022, it grew by 218% and young people are the main consumers; the peak is in the 15-year-old population precisely during adolescence, which is why it has been considered the main problem of care for the population recommended by United Nations and the World Health Organization.
During the analysis table “The current crisis of “crystal” methamphetamine consumption”, María Elena Medina-Mora organizer of the meeting and member of El Colegio Nacional, said that “In 2018, crystal meth became popular and became the main drug of abuse during the pandemic.”
In 2023, the Global Studies Seminar, of the UNAM, in its special issue on opioids, announced that in México substance consumption has been concentrated mainly in the states on the northern border with the United States, where a new public health challenge is also faced, derived from the arrival of fentanyl. and its rapid extension in this region. The population that has been most affected are migrants, homeless people, sexually diverse populations, women and young people.
Clara Fleiz a researcher in medical sciences, explained that Consumers of stimulants such as methamphetamine who arrive at rehabilitation centers, particularly on México’s northern border, are mostly men. with a percentage of six out of ten people, and four out of ten are women.
“20% of the population that comes to rehabilitation lived in a homeless context, in these brothels or smoking rooms and they consider themselves survivors”.
IT MAY INTEREST YOU: Fentanyl seizures on the border with México exceed 12.1 tons
He added that the first form of consumption of these stimulants is smoking; the second is inhaled; and the third is injected. AND Those affected can consume up to 11 times a day.
“In the border area, men mix the substance with alcohol and fentanyl, while women combine it mainly with benzodiazepine (which acts on the central nervous system).”
At the moment, Evidence shows that more than 60% of the heroin circulating in these border cities contains fentanyl. The findings are overwhelming: The population is being exposed to fentanyl without knowing it. This opioid was found mixed in its usual doses, this explains the increase in overdose.
“We have a phenomenon that has had a long history and is currently a serious problem in México and in other countries.” confirms Medina-Mora.
WHY ARE DRUGS INCREASING EXPONENTIALLY?
Within the framework of the International Day to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Alfredo Camhaji Samra of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences from UNAM, explains that it is a complex issue and is related to a combination of factors, including the social and emotional problems of users, the different forms of consumption, its low cost, the ease of obtaining it, but, above all, the atomization of organized crime that has made the production of methamphetamines largely destined for the national market.
Covid-19 aggravated this situation. “Adolescents between 15 and 16 years old and young adults between 18 and 24 have increased their drug consumption by 15% for opiates, 20% for marijuana, and 14% for alcohol. In such a way that seven out of ten adolescents have gone through situations of depression and 62% with anxiety problems.”
IT MAY INTEREST YOU: ‘Organized crime continues to recruit girls, boys and adolescents for drug dealing’: Redim
“Not only have consumption and mental health problems increased, but also violence, abuse and other actions that go against people’s integrity. 43% of adolescents experienced some type of psychological, physical or sexual violence at home. This tells us about how the country’s emotional problems have been worsening.”
INCREASE IN SUBSTANCE USE
According to the World Drug Report 2023, Psychoactive substance use remains high worldwide.
In 2021, 1 in 17 people aged 15 to 64 had used a drug in the last year.
Cannabis remains the most widely consumed drug; according to estimates, 219 million people (4.3% of the world’s adult population) consumed it.
The consumption of this drug is on the rise and, although the majority of people who consume it around the world are men (around 70%), the gender gap is reducing in some subregions; In North America, 42% of people who use cannabis are women.
In México, substance use among people who sought treatment is occurring at an early age as revealed by the organization Youth Integration Centers AC
Data reported by the Epidemiological Information System on Drug Consumption (SIECD) indicates that during the second half of 2023, 14,420 consumers of psychoactive substances requesting first admission to treatment were registered, of which 9,584 had consumed illicit drugs and 4,836 exclusively tobacco and /or alcohol. It should be noted that the beginning of the use of tobacco (15.1 years) and alcohol (14.9 years), in general, occurs before the beginning of the consumption of illicit drugs (17.2 years).
IT MAY INTEREST YOU: México is third in the world in opium production
The information also indicates that admission to treatment occurs, on average, at 25.8 years of age.. In the case of women, 28.8% requested care for both substance use and other mental health conditions.
The main reasons reported were: the use of illicit drugs (78.5%), alcohol (24.1%), anxiety (2.4%), depression (23.5%) and tobacco use (18.2%). In general, methamphetamines (34%) and cannabis (29.3%) are the main substances for which treatment is sought.
Over the past three years, lifetime cannabis use has decreased from 84.6% in the first half of 2020 to 79.4% in the second half of 2023. While lifetime methamphetamine use has increased significantly over the past 10 years, from 14.8% in 2013 to 45.6% in 2023.
In addition, The consumption of fentanyl and analogues went from five cases in the first half of 2021 to 103 cases in the second half of 2023.
The entities where it was reported were: State of México, Baja California, México City, Chihuahua, Sonora, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Guanajuato, Puebla, Coahuila, Guerrero, Jalisco, Morelos, Quintana Roo and Zacatecas.
With information from El Economista
Source: from NOTICIAS DE HOY on 2024-06-27 12:26:36
