A Drug Abuse Taskforce Official: The Pattern of Drug Use Among Iranian Children and Adolescents is ‘Flowers and Cannabis’
The director general of treatment and social support at the anti-drug taskforce, referring to statistics on children involved in drug abuse in Iran, said that unlike adults, the “number one pattern” of drug consumption among Iranian children and adolescents is “flowers and cannabis.”
According to the Asr-e Iran news website, Reza Tavasserkani Manesh stated on Wednesday, December 1st, that treating addiction in children and adolescents is based on “family therapy, cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy and more complex issues” and said that addiction in Iranian children and adolescents “mainly revolves around substances such as cannabis and flowers.”
Elaborating on the treatment of addiction in street children and adolescents, he added that treating addiction in children and adolescents differs from treating addiction in adults, and for this reason, a program to collect these children and care for them in special centers, such as adult addiction treatment centers, has not yet been organized.
Mr. Tavasserkani Manesh, without referring to the exact number of children and adolescents involved in drug abuse, said: “It is estimated that there are a thousand children involved in drug abuse.”
Previously, the Student News Agency, in September of this year, reported on the increased tendency of adolescents and young people to use drugs in recent years and cited the main reason as “accessibility” of drugs in different neighborhoods and their cheapness compared to healthy entertainment. It reported that according to the latest official statistics, the addiction rate among students, a significant portion of whom are in the adolescent age group, is “more than 2 percent of the total number of addicts and drug users in the country.”
According to the report, the statistics of addicted students in 9 Iranian provinces are higher than the national rate, and the prevalence rate of drug use among secondary and technical school students in the provinces of Tehran, South Khorasan, Fars, Semnan, Alborz, Khuzestan, Kerman, Razavi Khorasan, and Kermanshah is higher than the national average rate. The report adds that the addiction rate among Tehran students ranks first.
Source: Voice of America
