Can’t Estonian Youth Live Without Drugs Any More?
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Member of the Riigikogu
The article recognises drug consumption as having become a serious social problem in Estonia. The author tries to present an alternative view to a slowly proliferating opinion that Estonian youth in the 21st century cannot any longer live without drugs as drugs are seen as having become an obligatory component in the search for enjoyment.
The author of the article believes that the spread of drugs in Estonia could be restrained, but only if enough attention is paid to preventive work, especially among young people. But in the author’s opinion, the preventive work among the youth today is still insufficient: its proof is the increasing use of drugs among the youth in their search for enjoyment.
The article raises a problem that today there is no sufficient basic scientific information to posit Estonia’s own youth-oriented drug policy and to formulate prerogatives and priorities.
The author wishes to start a debate that the youth drug problem is currently seen erroneously only as spreading of a purely medically defined disease and, consequently, it is hoped that the medicine is able to constrain considerably the spreading of drugs in Estonia.
The author states that as it is practically impossible to cure fully-developed drug-addicts, all attention and major investments should be given to the prevention of drug consumption.
The article formulates current tasks that have to be solved before it will be possible to define the part of the youth policy that deals with the increasing consumption of drugs among the youth. The article was written with the aim to start widespread discussion on drug policy among interested government agencies in Estonia.
Anti Liiv, born 1946, medical doctor University of Tartu (UT) 1970, internship at the UT, psychiatrist 1971, Department of Psychology of the UT, psychologist 1975, post-graduate studies UT, psychiatrist 1979. Work: head-psychiatrist of the department of narcology of Tallinn Psychiatric Hospital 1980-85, member of the VIII and IX Riigikogu, member of Tallinn city council 1996-. Affiliation: Estonian Centre Party, Estonian Society of Naturalists, Ornithology Society, Estonian Psychiatrists Society, Society of People of Saaremaa Island in Tallinn, member of the editorial board of the Riigikogu Toimetised journal.