80% of young people who use drugs do so to alleviate emotional problems

Eight out of 10 youth who use drugs do so to alleviate emotional problems such as anxiety, depression, behavioral disorders or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a specialist said.

"Young people use drugs to alleviate a pathology, so addiction must be addressed from a perspective associated with emotional problems," Claudia Tejeda Romero, a pediatrician and adictóloga of the Centers for Youth Integration (CIJ), said in a statement.

The specialist said that these problems make people more vulnerable to relapses and hospitalizations, in addition to increasing the risk of illness and psychosocial deterioration.

Tejeda Romero explained that treatment should begin with awareness raising, then awareness and information to parents and teachers about the treatment of addictions.

"They are alerted to the family conflicts experienced by the young person who consumes drugs that perpetuate addiction," he said.

Treatment options include pharmacological care, group therapy, crisis intervention, psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational activities, as well as medical surveillance.

The specialist said that when given treatment and the family supports the young addict there is a 75% chance of success to keep the person from addiction.

He assured that the treatments promote healthy changes, both behavior and lifestyles, so that "the objective is to increase the perception of risk before the consumption of drugs."

Tejeda warned that drug use in youth increases the risk of dependency, which affects brain development.

According to their figures, one in six people who start marijuana use in adolescence develops addiction.

For more than 45 years, ICJs have been treating people affected by drug use in Mexico with a comprehensive treatment by staff specialized in addictions.

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