Drugs in Lebanon

Facts and Official Action Cannabis has been grown in the Beak valley ever since the Roman Empire, despite the laws prohibiting it. A long-running measure by the government before the Civil War was to burn the fields before the yearly harvest. The war stopped that action and the country became one of the most prominent in the world in the production & export of illicit drugs, reaching its peak in the late sass's at 1000 tons of cannabis resin and 3 to 5 tons of heroin, which had only been introduced a few years earlier.

In the early says, after the war ended, the eradication began again, but with the absence of alternative income sources and the promise of international aid that never materialized, this action plunged the local population in dire poverty, so much so that they have nothing more to lose and so they replant their crops every year. The culture and production had been In steady decline, and by 2002, most of It was Limited to the extreme north of the valley. But due to the rising political unrest since 2005, it has significantly increased again.

With the close watch of the land and sea borders for the traffic of arms, whisking of drugs out of the country has become harder, thereby forcing the growers to broaden local markets, increasing the local consumption, which has now become a serious epidemic amongst the Lebanese youth. In 1998, Lebanon passed Law 673, which stated that drug addiction was not a crime in itself. But there was no real implementation of the policy, and the Government continued offering only two choices: prison or abstinence.

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With some of the dealers being politically protected, and thus unreachable. Punishment came hard on users. They were caught, trialed, and held in conventional prisons for varying periods. However, recently, the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister of State for Administrative Reform stated clearly that addiction should be placed midway between crime and Illness, and that the addict should be treated Instead of imprisoned with criminals, murderers, & traffickers which will be nothing but an additional cause for drug use.

They are starting to promote cooperation between Government and No's where the addicts is caught and sent to rehab for proper treatment. Many dealers were and continue to be seized, as fortunately, action now concentrates on the root of the problem rather than the consequence. However, the Government still has a long way to go, as no official studies have Eden conducted on menders, prattles, Ana correct governmental reenrolled processes, and no rehabilitation centers are government-based.

Numbers and Non- Governmental Organizations There are currently 7 available rehabilitation centers in Lebanon, all No's, offering awareness, prevention, non-residential programs to short or long residential programs. Their success rates are more or less high, depending on the programs they offer and their social reintegration processes. The centers are Mum el Nor, Skunk, Jejuneness Anti Drogue DAD), Jejuneness Centre la Drogue COD), Bonjour du Ceil, Cancel De la Lumpier, and Horizons.

To report accurate numbers would be impossible, as no serious official study of the matter has ever been conducted. Some incomprehension studies conducted by unofficial bodies, namely rehabilitation enters, and mainly in the region of Beirut alone show the following statistics: There are 10,000 to 15,000 estimated drug addicts in Lebanon, of which 2000 are female. This number could rise significantly if studies on other regions are conducted. 24% of prison inmates are drug users. Around 700 addicts receive treatment per year.

A soaring 49% of all addicts fall in Beirut, with the other 51% divided amongst 6 other regions. Drug-related deaths are very underreported, and that for several reasons, mainly pertaining to the taboo nature of the issue, where families prefer to disguise he reason of death, when disclosing it might help other users. Average age for first time use has dropped dramatically from 28 years in 1996 to 17 in 2000, to 15 in 2009, with 60% between 14 and 19, to 22% between 20 and 24, to 9% between 25 and 29, to small portions after that.

As for educational level, the highest rate falls within people who have reached complementary school with 31%, but this does not indicate that education prevents addiction, as lower levels like primary school and illiteracy together represent only 18% whereas higher levels like some or full university education represents 27%. Socio-economical status seems to be more defining, as medium class contains 57% of addicts, versus 38% for low class, and only 6% for high class. But it is also important to note that the classes themselves are not equally divided.

What is most interesting is that 80% of all addicts are single, divorced, or separated, with only 20% married, which clearly states that people with less responsibility and sense of purpose tend to fall deeper into that abyss. As for drug- related diseases, 43% of addicts show psychopathology diseases, whether before he addiction and leading to it, or after it, as effects of it, 25% have other chronic diseases, 20% Cardiovascular, 17% Hepatitis C, 7% Pulmonary, 2% allergies, 2% Diabetes, and 0. 5% AIDS. Needle sharing is not uncommon, and if it happens with AIDS or HIVE patients, these diseases will soon become an epidemic in Lebanon.

Cannabis has the highest abuse rate at 66% but is considered a soft drug, less harmful than Heroin, which has a high rate of 65%, versus Cocaine 56%, Alcohol 47%, Ecstasy 20%, Amphetamines 13%, LSI 8%, and inhalants 2%. It is clear that poly substance use is very common. Cocaine and LSI are rising fast. It is very important to note that all the above numbers represents addicts, not occasional users. It is not uncommon to see people at parties having smoked cannabis, snorted cocaine, or popped ecstasy. So what makes an addict? Addiction is a disease, but it in not contagious.

In order to develop, it needs the right accommodation AT assistance, personality, Ana solo-cultural Doctors. I en assistance needs to have addictive properties and has to meet the specific needs of the user. For example, Cocaine will satisfy a person with underlying low self-esteem, while Heroin would be the drug of choice for an overly sensitive person. The person needs to have genetic predispositions, psychological fragility, problematic relationships, and some sort of frail social skills, and of course certain expectations of what the drug would do for them.

An antisocial or aggressive personality or morbid traits would also be determining factors. The socio-cultural factors should reflect some chaos and uncertainty, like a chaotic home or ineffective parenting, low communication, war, unemployment, or poverty in a consumer society, failures, loss of values, and the availability of the drug, affiliations with drug abusing peers, or peer pressure. Put together, these three factors are a fertile ground where addiction will grow and thrive until the person realizes that instead of solving his problems, it is making things much worse.

What starts as an attempt to self-medicate ultimately backfires. Instead of treating the problem, drugs simply mask the symptoms. The problem is still there, but now, there are more issues at hand. Relationships are worse, poverty is accentuated, performance is hindered, and added to all the previous drawbacks is he acquired dependency to a substance that is potentially fatal. By then, it is too late, but only to an extent. An addict typically tends to be in denial as a strong defense mechanism for the substance that has now become his life.

It matters more than anything else, more than friends, than family, than loved ones, than life itself. More than him. He has forgotten how to function without it, and even if he does realize that he is not really functioning, and that he is in a fast cycle of self- destruction, he cannot do much about it on his own. The drugs have altered his rain, literally altered the way it looks and functions. Overcoming the addiction is not simply a matter of willpower. It is a disease and should be treated by professionals. In Utopia For a society to be free of drug addiction, the grounds have to be made infertile.

Of course, the substance has to be made unavailable, the dealers caught and punished, the laws applied, the pharmacists infused with conscience, or at least punished so hard that they fear doing wrong. But even if the substance were hard to control, the other factors could be dealt with. The government would concentrate on the people it as elected to serve in the first place. It would strive to provide political and economic stability, health care, Job opportunities, and a secure future, giving the people a sense of pride, values, patriotism, and the feeling of belonging.

If it weren't perfect in the first place, and suddenly acquires a conscience, it could contain addicts and treat them by opening rehabilitation centers or helping existing ones grow, setting solid reintegration processes, and providing free psychological support and treatment to both addicts and their families (and other citizens). After all, it did argyle have a hand in their misfortunes in the first place. Finally, parents would know better than to become parents if they are unstable. They would treat their own issues before having children and passing on to them the troubles acquired from their own parents and past experiences.

They would seek treatment to rid themselves of the frustration, the intolerance, and the shattered values caused by years of strife and instability. They would understand the importance of a stable none, loving support, detective responsibility, g values, Ana realistic expectations. Sadly, Lebanon is no Utopia. The Government continues to arrogantly refuse to assume its role as rightful servant and protector, and parents continue to ignore their responsibility of providing love before money, and security before comfort.

So it falls on our shoulders, yours and mine, to act with continuous awareness and assume the responsibility of grace. A closer look Most common international narcotics can be found in Lebanon. Taking a closer look at their nature and their effects will help a better understanding of why they are used. A drug, or psychoactive substance is any natural or synthetic chemical that has he ability to affect thinking, feeling, senses, and/or behavior, by acting in the brain on mechanisms that normally exist to regulate the functions of mood, thoughts, and motivations.

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