Freeway - Drugs - Sweden and Italy

Drugs - Sweden and Italy

Everybody knows that heroin, cannabis, cocaine and speed are drugs. And not just them, there are several others too! In Sweden alcohol, tobacco and addictive medicines are also in the category drugs. The most dangerous quality that drugs have is that they create addiction and can give serious injuries both by occasional (temporary) and long period usage.
Culture and social traditions are a big part in the drug abuse. There is only a limited group in Sweden which abuses drugs, but that is one group too many!
Different drugs give different injuries. If you do drugs you can get medical, social and mental injuries. You can loose your senses or become a whole new person.
Tobacco is behind approx. 10.000 deaths each year in Sweden. People die in lung cancer and heart diseases.
The biggest problem is alcohol if you look at the combination of social and medical damages. Now 250.000 Swedish people are addicted to alcohol in such a big amount that it gives clear medical injuries. And that's a big problem! Alcohol is also a drug that often is related to violence and accidents. Another problem here in Sweden is that doctors describe addictive medicines. Later, when the patients have become addicted to the medicines, they hardly get any help with their treatment.
It is really tough to become free from drug abuse. Unfortunately, many drug- addicts get lasting injuries. There are people who have managed to quit using drugs but in the most cases they die by an overdose or something like that…

Other drugs
Cannabis
Cocaine
Ecstasy
Heroin

The Swedish alcohol- and drug politics
The Swedish alcohol- and drug politics have been relatively successful until the end of 1980. The alcohol consumption has been reduced considerably under the 80's. The number of drug addicts were limited and the doctors described less addictive medicines. Fewer youths drank themselves drunk or tried drugs.
The Swedish alcohol- and drug politics was built on a combination of restrictions, treatment and preventive measures.
But since the 80's the situation has changed. When Sweden became a member of the EU it has been harder to follow the Swedish alcohol politics. Now it is allowed to bring in much more alcohol to Sweden than it was before. That is one fact. Another fact is that it has only been a disadvantage for Sweden to join the EU if you look at that issue.

The schools' opportunities to give good education and social support have become worse. Now the students hardly get any information about drugs and what kind of injuries they cause. The opportunities to get treatment and rehabilitation has been reduced just like the confidence for the official alcohol- and drug politics.

Italy
Italy is one of many countries in Europe which is trying to prevent the spreading of drugs, but still there is a lot to be done.
It's easy for youths to get alcohol and drugs but most of them are aware that it can cause both physical and mental diseases.
In Italy, with a seven times bigger population than Sweden, there are about 300.000- 400.000 drug addicts.
Scientologists in Italy managed to commit Philips, Italy's most famous volleyball team, in the campaign "Say no to drugs". Celebrities and volunteers from churches arranged campaigns at regular intervals where they collected syringes which the drug addicts had thrown in public parks. They weren't only thinking of the environment. They were also thinking of the infection risk for the people, especially the children, who were visiting the parks.

In Örnsköldsvik, where we live, drugs is very common. You can read something about drugs in the newspaper almost every day. We got almost every existing drug here. Very few youths know how easy it is to get in touch with the drugs. Those who do drugs are probably aware of the risks but they don't think that it could happen to them.