ZAGREB, June 26, 2019 - The Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) on Wednesday reported that drug addicts are getting older and that they mostly consume marijuana, cocaine and amphetamines and that the highest number of people being treated for drugs can be found in Zadar and Istria counties.
"The situation in Europe, which has become the leading market for heroin and cocaine, has reflected on Croatia too. We have an increased consumption of cocaine, amphetamines - ecstasy and marijuana which is all the more present as about 70% of confiscated drugs are in fact marijuana," HZJZ assistant director Željko Petković told a press conference on the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking has been marked since 1987 when the UN decided to warn of the problem of drug abuse and the need for active involvement of all stakeholders in the prevention of drug abuse at the global and national levels.
"The problem of drugs goes beyond the health sector and without the cooperation of the judiciary, interior ministry and social welfare system the public health system cannot do a lot," HZJZ's Ivana Pavić Simetin said.
Data from the national register of people being treated for abuse of psycho-active drugs which have been present in Croatia since 1978, indicate that in 2018 there were 6,831 people under treatment which is less when compared to 2010 when that number was 7,550.
Pavić Simetin underscored that people undergoing treatment are growing older and so in 2018 their average age was 38.1 whereas in 2010 the average age was 32.2, however the youngest user registered was 14 and the oldest was aged 73.
There are fewer new drug addicts while the share of male drug addicts is four times higher than for women. Of those being treated, the majority of them have secondary school qualifications, they are unemployed and live with their parents while analyses indicate that the highest number of those being treated are in Zadar and Istria counties followed by Šibenik-Knin and then the City of Zagreb.
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