“Drugs are a taboo”: a qualitative and retrospective study on the role of education and harm reduction strategies associated with the use of psychoactive substances under the age of 18

Abstract

Background The use of psychoactive substances frequently starts at a younger age than adulthood. Considering the perspective of young people, this retrospective study tried to provide them with a role in identifying their own needs regarding drug use and interventions focused on it; the obstacles in accessing both general health and harm reduction services; the changes needed for a more effective, congruent and empowering response to the use of psychoactive substances before the age of 18. Methods The study was divided into two parts having both parts a qualitative focus. In the first part of the study, an online questionnaire was sent to all harm reduction teams and two focus groups were carried out with eight harm reduction professionals and six people who use(d) drugs. The second part used an online questionnaire applied to 143 participants aged between the age of 18 and 25 complemented by two semi-structured interviews. Results The need for education about psychoactive substances, namely in the educational context; the lack of information about available services; and the need for confidentiality were the most mentioned issues by the young people. Also, the informal network played a significant role in the participants relationship with psychoactive substances. Conclusions The lack of information was the most highlighted obstacle. Also, there is a confluence of various vulnerabilities such as being under 18, using drugs and the different social situations that they live in. To improve policy and practice regarding drug use among young people, harm reduction interventions must be scaled-up as well as intentionally driven to empower youth to deal with. School environment was chosen by participants as one of the elected environments to implement harm reduction services.

“They’re doing it anyway, let’s have a conversation about it”: Exploring student and stakeholder attitudes towards Drug Education Programmes for university students.

“…Consistent with the present study, previous research has shown that illicit drug use is a taboo topic -particularly between young people and people in perceived positions of authority (da Silva et al, 2021). This may act as an additional barrier preventing students from engaging with support and education services.…”

“…Previous research has demonstrated that stigma can prevent young people from engaging with harm reduction services, due to stereotypical perceptions around people who use drugs (da Silva et al, 2021). These perceptions are reinforced by drug education practices which intend to scare young people away from becoming "drug users", who are stereotypically represented as being sick and dangerous (Meehan, 2017).…”

Sexualized drug use among gay men and other men who have sex with men in Latin America: A description of the phenomenon based on the results of LAMIS-2018

“…In the case of recreational cannabis use, consumption in men and women has increased during the last decades (although the gender gap persists), which could be related to a decrease in the perception of risk or an increase in the perception of ease access [ 3 ]. Historically, the approach toward drug use has been correlated with socio-political criteria [ 4 ] with a wide range of perspectives, such as following the philosophy of prevention [ 5 ], penalizing consumption using a prohibitionist legal approach [ 6 ]; undergoing harm reduction [ 7 ] focusing on interventions aimed at reducing health damage [ 8 ], via syringe exchange programs [ 9 ], supervising consumption rooms [ 10 , 11 ] and providing methadone treatments [ 12 ], among others methods. Perspectives such as management of risk and pleasure that emphasizes the pleasure associated with drug use have recently been incorporated [ 13 ] with the developed strategies to minimize the risks associated to drug consumption [ 14 ], regulate consumption behavior using knowledge, self-control, and self-efficacy [ 15 ].…”