Citation

Biffi L, Agliardi A, Casati V, Donzelli G, Lamera B, Plebani P. Ricerca e Pratica 1998; 14(82): 139-152.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Services dealing with the health aspects of drug abuse are meeting new demands, coming mostly from adolescents and very young adults. In this age group, heroin is not any more the only or the prevalent substance of abuse, the scene being taken by the so called 'new drugs': ecstasy, cocaine, anphetamine, LSD, popper. The novelty of these drugs lies mostly in a new pattern of use: they tend infact to be used mostly on week-end nights, often within the discotheques featuring 'techno' music. The authors have investigated this phenomenon within an area of Northern Italy, observing different situations (working sites employing young workers, the foot-ball stadium, bars, discotheques) where the very young spend their time and where peddling and use of drugs are frequent. This study presents the quantifiable results of 553 interviews taken just outside two discotheques and discusses the quality of the phenomenon as it results from the whole research project. 83% of the responders were younger than 23, about 70% were male, 55% had a job, non qualified in over two thirds of cases. Almost half of the sample attended the discotheque between 3 and 6 times per month, 10% more than 6 times. The most frequent attenders belonged to the lowest age group (13-16). Substance abuse was very strongly linked with the rites of 'techno'music, lived as a liberatory collective experience led by the vocalist in the discotheque. The authors' observations and interviews seem to confirm that the use of ecstasy and other 'designer drugs' decreases sharply with age, and that they don't seem to produce a long lasting dependence. On the other hand, they are dangerous because of their possible long lasting effects on the central nervous system and because of an increased risk of accidents, violence, and sometimes of suicide. The frailest also happen to transfer their habit outside the 'protected' environment of the discotheque within 'real' life, developing a psychopathic or sociopathic behaviour.

Language: it

Keywords

adolescence; adolescent; adult; amphetamine; article; child behavior; cocaine; diamorphine; drug abuse; female; human; human cell; human tissue; italy; job analysis; lysergide; major clinical study; male; qualitative diagnosis; social life; suicide