The Ligo week, during which more than ten teenagers were hospitalized with severe drug overdoses, became a critical moment, after which the Ministry of Health convened an interdepartmental meeting, public media write.
The conclusions of its participants were stark: in the short term, it is impossible to reduce drug use among children and young people. The opposite trend is currently being observed: in a few years, the use of addictive substances has doubled.
During the week of Ligo, ambulance crews were forced to repeatedly go to the Riga shopping center “Origo” – to a total of 16 young people, many of whom were unconscious. Some ran away after being given an antidote, others were taken to the hospital in serious condition. Doctors assume that the substances that the young people took were synthetic opioids of the nitazine group.
Astrida Stirna, head of the drug addiction service at the Riga Psychiatry and Narcology Centre, explains that their effects are associated with a very high risk of overdose, which is why they are very dangerous.
“In addition, opioids have an extremely high potential for addiction, and dependence on these substances develops very quickly,” the doctor says.
A large number of cases of severe overdoses have prompted a meeting at the Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, doctors have been warning about the increase in drug use among teenagers for at least a year now and calling for solutions. Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that the number of young people who have already tried and regularly use drugs is growing. 27% of 15-16 year olds in Latvia have tried some kind of drug. At the same time, the number of young people hospitalized after using drugs is also growing, and for many, this is not the first overdose.
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2024-07-04 19:26:11