Drug Addiction : Children and people keep waiting wholeheartedly for the arrival of the summer season. Children for the summer vacations, teachers also for the vacations, office people also wait for it, as they get opportunity to go out with family to enjoy the holidays on a hilly area. Overall, summers brings in lots of fun and enjoyment for the family, friends and relatives.
But, the time does not remain same all the time. Generations are coming one after the other and so, the thought process of the new generations also changes. According to a new study, the summer season also give birth to drug users. Drugs consumption like cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana and molly, are variably used and also tried by the people for the first time in summer season and the rate of drug consumption increases.
The findings, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, (Drug Addiction)
advocate that people become more addict to drugs consumption during summer as young people get a break from school and also get the leisure time to work and give time to these wrong practices. Dr. Joseph Palamar, an associate professor of population health at the NYU School of Medicine, said that summer brings unoccupied time, especially for young people with nothing to do and then they find drug consumption time, alternate to free time.
Researchers revealed that around 30% of ecstasy and marijuana & 28% of cocaine use gets initiated in the summer season.
Dr. Palamar said “If one tries ecstasy on a whim, and you are drunk, on the top of it dancing in hot weather, is truly dangerous, can also lead to death.
The study was conducted in more than 394,000 Americans ages 12 and older. A yearly survey was conducted on drug consumption between 2011 and 2017. People were asked about their drug consumption time for certain drugs —LSD, marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy (also known as MDMA or molly).
Most of the people replied, the summer (varied between June to August). The findings were published on (July 23) in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
The researchers assume that the increase in drug initiation during the summer months may be due to people having more leisure time during the summer and perform many outdoor social activities, such as musical festivals, are more common in the summer and may increase a person’s chances of exposure to drugs consumption or the individual’s willingness to use them.
Dr. Joseph Palamar an associate professor in the Department of Population Health at the New York University School of Medicine revealed that Parents and educators, who are concerned about their children, require educating them always about prospective risks associated with drug use, but the more importance should be given close to the summer season. Brushing up the pros and cons of drugs consumption is needed before or during summer months, when rates of commencement increase.
Those who will be initiating drugs consumption for the first-time may be unfamiliar with the drug’s effects, so, this may bring in higher risk of harm to them. Accordingly they should educate themselves about the drugs’ side effects. He further said one should have the company of trusted friends, when using a drug for the first time and also making sure to drink plenty of fluids and get enough rest to avoid dehydration, exhaustion and heat stroke.
But still more research is needed to be interrogated in order to determine why summer is a risk factor for drug initiation?
