The danger of "stoned" | SAIGON GIAI PHONG NEWSPAPER

Addicts are getting younger and younger.

Recently, on the afternoon of March 30, in An Giang, a 23-year-old man showed signs of being high on drugs and stabbed his father, seriously injuring him. Previously, on March 29, Thu Dau Mot City Police ( Binh Duong ) arrested a young man high on drugs who attacked a police officer and set fire to a grocery store. These are just two of many heartbreaking incidents caused by the effects of crystal meth.

Police in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City, controlled a drug-positive subject who stabbed three people and injured them. Photo: CHI THACH

Statistics from the Department of Social Evils Prevention (Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs) show that in 2022, the country will have more than 262,000 drug addicts, people under post-rehabilitation management, and illegal drug users. According to a representative of the Department of Drug Crime Investigation, Ministry of Public Security , currently, 70%-80% of drug addicts in our country use synthetic drugs. Worryingly, the number of addicts is getting younger. Among drug addicts with management records, those under 16 years old account for 0.1%; those from 16 to under 35 years old account for 76%. A survey in 3 major cities, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong, showed that the age at which many teenagers start using crystal meth is from 16.4 to 17.3 years old. Another survey showed that 47% of students believe that crystal meth and synthetic drugs are not harmful or addictive.

At Nhi Xuan Social Facility (HCMC), from 2017 to present, on average each year the unit receives withdrawal, detoxification and health care for 6,000 drug addicts. Among these, the number of drug addicts with mental disorders has increased over the years. According to the doctors treating them here, people addicted to synthetic drugs have common characteristics of complex psychological developments such as depression, anxiety, obsession, irritability, poor memory, delirium, incomprehensible speech, self-harm... Many students have aggressive behavior, raise their voices in communication, and cause fights with other students. 90% of the cases of students causing trouble have a history of psychosis or are being treated for psychosis. Ms. LXM (55 years old, living in District 8, mother of a 19-year-old patient undergoing drug withdrawal treatment at Nhi Xuan Social Facility) expressed: “Crystal meth drives my child crazy. Sometimes he sits alone and cries, sometimes he screams, smashes things, and chases and beats his parents and siblings.”

Psychosis, brain damage

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Tuan, Director of the Institute of Mental Health, Bach Mai Hospital, in the past, the main addictive substance was opium, then heroin, but now there are hundreds of different types of synthetic drugs disguised and disguised in many forms such as electronic cigarettes, marijuana, American weed, happy water, ecstasy, candy, hallucinogenic mushrooms, laughing gas, etc. According to Dr. Huynh Thanh Hien, Ho Chi Minh City Mental Hospital, crystal meth stimulates the central nervous system and causes hallucinations in users, changing the behavior and attitude of addicts. More dangerously, the stimulants in crystal meth are highly toxic to the brain, if used for a long time, addicts are susceptible to mental illness, depression, and panic attacks. Psychosis, also known as "stoned" is divided into two main states: people who are "stoned" can be depressed, always in a state of anxiety, boredom, being alone, and can lead to suicide. In addition, people who are "stoned" suffer from hallucinations, paranoia, mental illness, and strong nervous agitation. They often scream, climb, beat people for no reason, and even kill people...

Currently, there is no specific drug in the world to treat crystal meth addiction and there is no certain standard for the time to completely cure psychosis. The time to treat psychosis depends on each case, some people respond well, some respond poorly, or even do not respond at all. According to Dr. Le Thi Thu Ha, Head of the Department of Addiction Treatment, Institute of Mental Health, Bach Mai Hospital, the most important factor in treating drug addicts, especially crystal meth addicts, is the family and the community. Patients whose families care for them wholeheartedly and work closely with their doctors have much better treatment results, as well as reducing the possibility of relapse. “Currently, patients with mental disorders caused by crystal meth and ecstasy are treated according to a specific regimen of the Ministry of Health , lasting from 7-12 days. Depending on the condition of the disease, the patient is treated with chemical drugs, psychological therapy, and brain modulation. Brain modulation is the use of electric current to stimulate the patient's brain. When combined with medication, the patient's condition improves,” said Dr. Le Thi Thu Ha.

Clinical manifestations of "stoned"

According to Dr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Mai Huong Daytime Psychiatric Hospital (Hanoi), the clinical manifestations of drug-induced psychosis are very diverse, depending on the drug the addict uses and the psychosis that appears. Drug-induced hallucinations are initially usually just the sounds of "o..o..." or "u..u..." in the patient's ears, appearing suddenly. Gradually, those rudimentary auditory hallucinations appear more and more during the day, the intensity of the hallucinations becomes stronger and gradually develops into auditory speech hallucinations. The patient hears the sounds of people talking to each other rustling in his ears. The voices can talk about the patient: praise, criticize, curse, threaten the patient or incite, forcefully order the patient to do something dangerous such as hanging, climbing a high-voltage electric pole, killing someone... Therefore, many cases cannot control themselves, are controlled by auditory hallucinations and commit dangerous actions for themselves and those around them.

Drug trafficking and use are complicated

According to statistics from the Ministry of Public Security, in 2022, the specialized forces fighting drug crimes of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Finance detected 26,967 cases, arrested 41,308 drug criminals; seized 809 kg of heroin, 6.1 tons of synthetic drugs, 867 kg of marijuana and over 1 ton of other drugs; eliminated 417 points, 43 complex drug hotspots; fought 1,563 cases of taking advantage of business establishments with security and order conditions and sensitive services to use drugs.

Drugs and evidence seized by police

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/moi-hoa-ngao-da-post684180.html