Unemployment is a major issue and the people are getting more and more desperate. An unfortunate consequence of this is increased drug use across all sectors of society.
A state-run news agency reported this week that the Office of Research and Training of the Counter Narcotics Headquarters in Iran is concerned that the demand for narcotics is going to rise.
The organisation said that the demographics of those using drugs are changing too – now there are more educated people and young people that are turning to drugs. It is not a problem that is critical among the unemployed and poor.
The type of drugs that are being consumed is also changing.
Hamidreza Sarami, the director of the Office of Research and Training of the Counter Narcotics, said that the misuse of prescription drugs is becoming increasingly common.
He said: “For example, the use of methadone, some types of diazepines, sleeping pills and painkillers have increased in non-medical forms, making it more difficult to combat addiction.”
One of the causes for this growing problem in Iran is the availability of narcotics. It is no secret that drugs are easier to get hold of than bread. It is therefore no surprise that the number of deaths due to drug use is rising every year. The Medical Examiner’s Organisation of Iran states that more than 3,000 people died because of drug use during the year 2016 – a rise of more than 6 per cent from the previous year.
Experts are also saying that more and more women in the country are starting to take drugs. This also means that there is an increasing number of babies are born with a drug addiction. Worryingly, reports from Iran indicate that children as young as 3 are taking drugs because they have been exposed to it by their addicted parents.
The average age of addiction is decreasing and the state media reports that it is currently at 13 years old.
Official sources say that in 2013 there were at least 10 million drug addicts in the country. This was around 13 per cent of the entire population. It is believed that the number of addicts has since doubled.
Unemployment, abysmal social conditions and services, and general suppression are contributing to this growing problem. The Iranian regime has failed to address the drug issue and the cartels that are facilitating drug use are not being stopped.
The Iranian regime’s corruption is also to blame as there are official entities profiting from drug trafficking.
It is time that the Iranian regime concentrated on some of the issues that the neglected people of Iran are facing. The people know that this will never happen and it is one of the reasons why they are demanding regime change.
