Iceland’s Recipe for Recovery: Could This Nordic Strategy Be the Key to Tackling Lithuania’s Substance Abuse Crisis

The minister had a detailed look at the Icelandic drug prevention program, which has received international attention and is considered a successful example of youth drug abuse prevention.

Drug use among Icelandic teenagers was among the highest in Europe. However, after the implementation of an extensive prevention program, and the involvement of schools, parents, and communities in the fight against drug use and distribution, today Iceland is one of the countries with the healthiest teenagers living.

“The example of Iceland is inspiring, it shows that the drug problem can be stopped, that there are measures that work. However, it took Iceland 20 years to achieve the desired change, to change the behavior of society. Thus, there is no spontaneous miracle in the Icelandic model, it is the result of hard, purposeful and long work.

Such a model can certainly work in Lithuania as well, but it requires concentrated efforts – we must not act individually and fragmentarily, but all together and consistently. Prevention cannot be the sole responsibility of the police, and drug use will certainly not be stopped by intimidation and deterrence alone. Children’s destinies are the responsibility of all of us, therefore, wherever we are, we must do everything we can to prevent minors from getting stuck in this quagmire,” the minister emphasized.

The main prescriptions of the Icelandic model for curbing drug abuse are data analysis, early and targeted prevention, assured treatment and rehabilitation, and effective law enforcement deterrents.

According to the minister, data is the beginning of everything. Only by having a map of the situation – knowing the most at-risk neighborhoods, schools, causes of use, substances, races and effective solutions. Iceland pays special attention to data collection, surveys, research, and trend monitoring. At that time in Lithuania, it is not even clear how the scale of consumption is measured.

In reducing teenage drug experimentation, Iceland emphasizes child employment. Sports, non-formal education and quality time for parents with their children are given a lot of attention here. Even 41 percent Icelandic schoolchildren play sports 4 times a week. The municipalities of the whole country pay special attention to the employment of children, solid funding is allocated to the after-school activities of every child between the ages of 6 and 18 throughout the year.

Persons with addictions are provided with all necessary treatment, rehabilitation and support services. Icelandic society is very actively involved in solving the drug problem – drug use is not tolerated, drug dealers and teenagers are reported, and drug users are helped to recover.

There are also strict restrictions on the advertising and trade of alcohol and tobacco. Much attention is also paid to law enforcement deterrence measures.

According to the minister, prevention, like civil safety, has been neglected in Lithuania for years. The Ministry of the Interior has already developed a centralized crime prevention model. It will also help in organizing the prevention of the fight against drugs. According to Minister A. Bilotaitė, Iceland’s experience shows that drug use can be curbed if all institutions responsible for prevention act in a purposeful, coordinated manner, without duplicating each other.

It is very important to create a channel acceptable to young people (for example, a mobile application) through which minors could report drug dealers, attempts to involve them in drug trafficking networks, drug use experiences or abuse, and it is necessary to adapt the capabilities of the 112 emergency center for this.

It is also necessary to strengthen the network of police community officers, to ensure their proper training, to pay more attention to crimes in the electronic space and to the investigation of crimes related to the possession of drugs and smuggling.

Recommendations on how to create a safe environment for schools were prepared this year at the initiative of the Ministry of the Interior, the topic of drug use prevention was included in the life skills program, a pilot project was initiated in the municipal schools of Vilnius, Alytus and Klaipėda districts, which will allow checking which preventive measures are really effective.

This year, 2,730 criminal acts related to drugs and their smuggling were registered in Lithuania, which is 26% more than last year. Juveniles are increasingly involved in such criminal acts. This year, the police have already registered 75 minors suspected of crimes related to drug possession and smuggling (150 last year).

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