The materials were prepared by the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Belarus based on information from the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus, the Commissioner for Religious and National Affairs, and the RPO "Belaya Rus"

Drug addiction is one of the major problems facing the entire global community. According to the World Drug Report 2021, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, about 275 million people worldwide used drugs in the past year, and more than 36 million people suffered from drug use disorders.

The number of people using drugs has increased by 22% compared to 2010. A forecast based on demographic changes suggests that by 2030 the number of people using drugs worldwide will increase by another 11% (according to experts, each patient with drug addiction involves 5 to 17 people in drug use during their lifetime).

Thus, drug use is a major problem that requires close and unflagging attention from both the state and each of us. As a reminder of its importance, events are held around the world every year on March 1 as part of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking.

General situation with drug addiction in the Republic of Belarus: figures and facts

Attention speakers: from here on it is advisable to provide relevant information and examples applicable to a specific region, territory, or locality.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, in 2021 there was an increase in the number of patients suffering from drug addiction and under the supervision of a psychiatrist-narcologist of the narcological service of the republic (2021 - 12,833 people, 2020 - 12,346, 2019 - 12,664).

Of these, 7,321 people were under dispensary observation in connection with the syndrome of dependence on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and 5,512 were under preventive observation.

According to the Ministry of Health of Belarus, among patients under dispensary observation with drug dependence syndrome, the most frequently used drugs and psychoactive substances (hereinafter referred to as PAS) are opium, psychostimulants and cannabis (marijuana). At the same time, many patients used two or more drugs at the same time or alternated them.

Drug addiction is predominantly a male disease. Among those registered with drug addiction treatment, women constitute a minority – 15.25% (1,454 people).

Drug addiction is a “young” disease. Most often, drugs are used by people aged 21–40 (79.2%), 41–50 (11.87%).

Drug addiction is an "urban" disease. Drug use is more common among city dwellers (93.4%) than rural residents (6.6%).

Drug addiction is a disease of less educated people. The largest number of drug addicts have secondary specialized education - 43.9%, secondary general - 38.8%, vocational - 9.3%, incomplete secondary - 4.8%, higher - 3.2%.

Drug addiction is a disease of people without a life partner. The marital status of drug users under medical supervision: single (not married) - 51.8%, married (married) - 29.2%, divorced (divorced) - 16.7%, widower (widow) - 2.3%.

Drug addiction is a disease of working people. Depending on social status, working people predominate among drug addicts – 49.0%. Almost a third (30.2%) are non-working (over 20 years old), 9.2% are neither students nor working (under 20 years old).

Of particular concern is the situation with the spread of drugs among young people, which is becoming one of the most acute social problems of all modern states.

It should be noted that in Belarus in 2021, 8 minors were registered under dispensary observation with drug dependence syndrome (in 2019 and 2020, they were not registered). Compared to 2020, the number of minors under preventive observation increased by 2.6 times (in 2021, there were 64 minors, in 2020 - 24, in 2019 - 39).

There are no legal drugs in the Republic of Belarus. All drugs are prohibited and controlled. Any actions with them are illegal and persons involved in drug trafficking are subject to prosecution in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the CC) or the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses (hereinafter referred to as the Administrative Offenses Code).

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, in 2021 there was a significant increase in the number of crimes related to illegal drug trafficking. Thus, law enforcement agencies identified 4,643 drug crimes (2020 - 3,541, 2019 - 4,276), of which 2,545 were related to drug trafficking (2020 - 1,780, 2019 - 2,184).

As a negative trend, it should be noted the increase in the proportion of minors who were charged under Article 328 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus "Illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their precursors and analogues" from 2% in 2020 to 4.3% in 2021, as well as persons charged with committing illegal drug trafficking as part of organized groups (from 2.6% to 10.5%).

In 2021, 111 persons under the age of 18 were brought to criminal responsibility for illegal drug trafficking. Most of them have a particularly serious offense, which carries a prison sentence of 6 to 15 years (Part 3 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code).

Negative impact of drugs on human health. Social consequences of drug use

Some may consider the above figures to be insignificant for a country with a population of over 9 million people, but this is a misconception.

Firstly, these are not just numbers, each of them represents a person's fate. In fact, every drug addict has relatives - mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather, husband, wife, children, etc. As a result, one person's problem turns into a real disaster for a dozen people around him.

Secondly, it should be remembered that drug addiction is a serious, virtually incurable disease caused by dependence on a narcotic or psychotropic substance, which destroys the brain, mental and physical health, and ends in premature death. This disease is characterized by a person’s severe dependence, his physical and mental state, on the drug.

All narcotic substances of natural or synthetic origin are poisons that intoxicate the human body. Every organ system of the human body (respiratory system, heart, gastrointestinal tract, nervous system, etc.) is susceptible to the influence of drugs.

People suffering from drug addiction are unable to fulfill their social obligations. A person does not notice how drugs become a vital necessity, displacing family values, friends, work, sports, etc. Personality degradation occurs.

The system of providing drug addiction treatment in the Republic of Belarus

The prolonged effect of drugs on the addict leads to the complete destruction of the entire organism as a whole. A person is not able to refuse to take these drugs on his own, he needs urgent help.

In the Republic of Belarus, state policy in the field of providing drug addiction treatment is aimed at creating conditions for maintaining, strengthening and restoring the health of citizens, improving the moral and psychological situation of people suffering from addiction to psychoactive substances in the family, team, and society.

Based on state social standards, drug addiction treatment is free. This treatment can be provided in healthcare organizations both in outpatient and inpatient settings, in day care departments, and outside healthcare organizations (for persons serving sentences in the penitentiary system). For persons who have applied to a healthcare organization voluntarily (on a paid basis), anonymous treatment is provided without being registered with a drug addiction service.

In all regions of the republic, rehabilitation departments (centers) for patients with drug addiction are functioning. Rehabilitation is carried out by multidisciplinary teams of specialists (psychiatrist-narcologist, psychotherapist, psychologist, social worker).

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus pays special attention to the development of hospital-substituting technologies, as well as to increasing the effectiveness of drug treatment through active interaction with public organizations and religious denominations (ROO "Mothers against Drugs", BPO "Positive Movement", NGO "Anonymous Narcotics" and others), which contributes to increasing the duration of remission of people dependent on psychoactive substances.

Harm reduction programs are available for injecting drug users. Methadone substitution therapy (prescribing methadone to replace injectable opioids, supported by WHO and the UN, hereinafter referred to as MST) has been implemented in all regions of Belarus for over 10 years. As of January 1, 2022, 707 patients with opioid dependence syndrome were taking MST in Belarus.

Social support is provided for patients of the MMT program; all of them are provided with psychological assistance, as well as assistance from a social worker in finding work, restoring documents, and obtaining the necessary medical care.

Narcological care in the ZTM offices is integrated into the provision of care to HIV-infected patients. Close interaction between a psychiatrist-narcologist and an infectious disease specialist allows for simultaneous substitution therapy and antiretroviral therapy.

Counteracting the spread of drugs in the Republic of Belarus: state and public initiatives. Work on the prevention of drug addiction among young people

The basis of activities to prevent and combat the spread of drug addiction is the active interaction of government agencies and public organizations.

In Belarus, special attention is paid to work on drug prevention among young people. For these purposes, educational institutions closely cooperate with such constructive public associations as the Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM), the Belarusian Republican Pioneer Organization (BRPO), the Belarusian Committee of Youth Organizations (BCYO), the Association of UNESCO Clubs, and the Belarusian Red Cross Society. A Cooperation Program is being implemented between the Ministry of Education and the Belarusian Orthodox Church.

Work with young students is carried out within the framework of academic subjects and disciplines, through elective and optional courses, as well as outside of school hours through social, leisure, sports, and work activities.

Anti-drug propaganda in the Republic of Belarus

In Belarus, work is constantly being carried out on issues of informational counteraction to the illegal distribution of drugs and the prevention of drug addiction.

All state-owned print and broadcast media inform the public about the problem of drug addiction, the progress of the fight against illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues, judicial practice and the results of the consideration of cases of this category, measures taken in the area of ​​drug addiction prevention, and the conduct of joint actions with government agencies.

Unfortunately, despite the broad information campaign being conducted in the country to prevent drug addiction, there are many examples where even young men and women aged 15–17, students of higher and secondary specialized institutions, and even schoolchildren were detained by police officers for illegal drug trafficking.

Today, the main resource for drug distribution has become the Internet, of which each of us is an active user.

Many people have experienced how tempting advertising can be about the possibility of making quick, easy, and most importantly, significant money.

The organizers of online stores and drug sales sites promise huge amounts of money for just a minor service, sometimes hiding the true goals and the object of income.

As a rule, no one ever sees those who are on the other side of a computer, smartphone or other gadget.

The drug business today is faceless, cruel, unprincipled and merciless. The only goal of such employers is to enrich themselves at the expense of the fates, lives and health of young and naive people.

By agreeing, a person becomes a drug distributor, and for the employer - a spending coin. The payment of the reward will be constantly delayed, the next batch of drugs will have to be purchased at their own expense, and so on until the police knock on the "employee's" door. As a rule, this happens within 2 weeks to 1.5 months, and some are delayed at the first attempt to earn easy money. And then, as usual, tears and the realization of what happened, but it's too late.

Many who have embarked on the dangerous path of drug trafficking at some point still realize that they have made the wrong choice and want to get out of this business, but it turns out that desire alone is not enough.

Recruiters, as a rule, when hiring a person, require passport data, which in such cases they use for blackmail and threats, promising to publicize their illegal activities. And the fear of this makes them continue to work for the "master" until the already known end.

In addition, today a new threat requires a response, related to the advertising of online stores that carry out criminal activities in the sphere of illegal turnover of psychoactive substances. As a rule, this is expressed in the application of graffiti or the pasting of stickers in public places with advertising in the form of a link to a specific online store and the indication of the drugs sold by it.

A separate danger comes from the position of adults who are convinced that drugs will affect anyone but their family.

Education and trusting communication should always start with the family. It is the foundation of children's well-being. And the more convincing the parents are, the more useful this communication will be for both parties.

It turns out that many parents still do not know that the Internet and gadgets not only contribute to the development of the child, but also pose a serious threat to safety. Trying not to violate the child's personal space, not paying attention to changes in his behavior, not knowing the circle of communication and not delving into the lifestyle, dads and moms learn about the consequences too late. And the information that the "good" daughter or son has become drug dealers or drug addicts comes as a complete surprise. ***

Drug addiction and illegal drug trafficking are becoming a threat to the social, political, demographic, economic, and internal security of any modern state.

In our country, issues of combating illegal drug trafficking and preventing drug use are given special attention by all interested government agencies and organizations. However, as practice shows, for more effective combating drug addiction and drug trafficking, the participation of the entire society is necessary.

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