26% of 15-19 year olds use cannabis, 2-3% cocaine, 1.4% heroin and 1.6% synthetic drugs. A trend that during the holidays, when the brakes loosen, points to the upside. But parents can do a lot to curb it

Difficult to discover but far from rare, dangerous for health and society, drug use among the very young worries experts as much as parents.

Especially now that, with the arrival of summer, “adult control is loosening, schedules become more flexible and consumption opportunities are multiplying, especially in certain places and in contexts where drugs circulate with great ease. .

There is no specific data on the summer season, but over the course of the year the figures are high: 26% of 15-19 year olds use cannabis, 2-3% take cocaine, 1.4% heroin and 1%. 6% synthetic drugs, the so-called “smart drugs” the trend towards an increase in the use of heroin, which today is no longer injected but almost always snorted.

This is not the only change from the past; to understand the phenomenon, and to counter it more effectively, we must therefore get rid of some stereotypes.

For example, “the image of the drug addict who lives on the margins of society is no longer relevant. Today, consumers are not so recognizable and the use of drugs can also be limited to just the weekend, but this does not make it any less dangerous. With regard to adolescents, then, it should be emphasized that in that age group, illicit substances are often associated with nicotine and the abuse of alcohol and energy drinks, which too often are tolerated within the same families.

The risks are important. The main one is represented by road accidents, but the consequences on the brain should not be underestimated, which are all the more serious the younger the consumer is. Cannabis, which in some cases is taken as early as 12-14 years old, can lead to psychotic attacks in particularly vulnerable and predisposed individuals, and there is also a link between this substance and depression “warns the expert.

Character changes, sleep disturbances or the need to eat at unusual times are alarm bells that should make family members suspicious.

But the winning weapon against drugs remains prevention, in which parents play a key role. “We avoid being accomplices of our children and do not try to become their friends; we take into account the environments they frequent and the companies, “says the expert. “Dialogue must always be maintained, but drug use must be stigmatized and condemned.

Cigarettes should also not be tolerated. An approach of this type can lead to clashes, which, however, are resolved with growth. Children must know that parents are strong shoulders to lean on, and not assimilate them to peers, with their own weaknesses and uncertainties.