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June 15, 2001
Caught in the Drug Culture
Drug and alcohol abuse in Denmark is on the rise — with youth the worst victims of a drug culture that begins with adults
The half dozen teens gathered in the basement of a friend’s house on Friday evening. Within one-half hour, they had drunk themselves senseless, consuming five alcoholic drinks in a row.
Media stories throughout the country continue to report on the rising abuse of alcohol and drugs by Danish youth.
According to a report issued earlier this year by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), illicit drug use rose in almost all the 30 European countries, except Britain and Ireland.
Denmark not only counts among the countries with the increasing drug problem, but according to the report, it has the highest teenage alcohol problem in Europe: 59% of students surveyed reported drinking alcohol on at least 40 occasions; 41% reported having been drunk 20 times or more, and 30% reported being drunk at least three times in the previous 30 days. The study also found that “binge” drinking — defined as five drinks in a row — was on the increase, with more than 30% of schoolchildren in Denmark having engaged in such drinking three or more times in the previous month.
Increased alcohol abuse, as long established in studies, routinely leads to the consumption of other drugs — a trend that is being seen in Denmark, particularly with Ecstasy and cannabis.
With all of the warnings against alcohol and drug abuse, what has gone wrong?
Confused Message
“Youth are receiving a confused message today,” said Christine Astrupgaard, chairperson of the “Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life” Association of Denmark. “On the one hand, parents and schools are telling children not to take drugs, not to abuse alcohol. On the other hand, they see ‘happiness pills’ advertised as the solutions for life’s problems. The drug culture is saying, ‘all your problems and bad feelings are just chemicals in your brain, you can feel better with a drug.’ Kids get that message and they do it their own way.”
In fact, according to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the rising use of legal or “controlled” drugs in society poses far more of a risk at this time than street drugs. The United Nations drug agency, in a report released in February, warned of the high consumption of prescription and other controlled narcotics and psychotropic or mind-altering substances.
“Up to 70 percent of long-term use of psychotropic drugs is irrelevant and often prescribed for social reasons,” Professor Hamid Ghodse, president of the INCB, told news outlets upon release of the panel’s report. Social reasons cited by Ghodse include pressures arising from unemployment and marriage difficulties.
The INCB urged government authorities, health care professionals, pharmaceutical companies and consumers themselves “to adopt more responsible and ethical behavior and to adhere to a more rational prescription culture.”
Drugs for Drugs
At the same time, those responsible for solving the drug problem have increasingly conveyed that the problem cannot actually be solved. Rather, the “solution” has become efforts to “normalize” drug use and “minimize harm” by both legalising the so-called soft drugs like cannabis and hash, and encouraging heroin addicts to avail themselves of state-supported methadone programs.
Methadone is a synthetic drug known to be more addictive and harmful than heroin. In Denmark, treatment programs are overseen by the Ministry of Social Affairs, and today, there are more than 4,500 methadone users in Denmark.
Members of the Danish Parliament have also considered a proposal to establish centers where “injecting drug addicts may inject their substances without stress.”
“Fortunately the program has not been implemented,” said Astrupgaard, “but even considering such solutions is a step in the wrong direction.”
Prevention Priorities
The Say No to Drugs campaign promotes that drug education and prevention are essential priorities to end the drug problem, and need at least as much attention as rehabilitation in order to actually solve the drug problem in the long term.
“Kids need to know that mind-altering drugs are not a solution for life’s troubles, and that just because they are advertised in the magazines, it does not make them any better,” said Astrupgaard. “A drug is a drug, and they have the same effect. Drugs are essentially poisons and they damage one not just physically, but mentally and spiritually.”
The “Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life” campaign is an effective drug education and prevention program, sponsored by Churches of Scientology, focusing on educating youth on the truth about drugs and what they do.
Say No to Drugs volunteers are visible each week in Copenhagen, Aarhus and other cities, with information stands and volunteers distributing factual literature about drugs.
The campaign is sponsored by Churches of Scientology throughout Europe. Scientologists tackle the subject of drugs with some authority: the Church membership comprises a 100 percent drug-free group, and Scientology churches have freed more than 250,000 people from the trap of drugs.
Further, the Churches and Scientologists support the non-religious and independent Narconon drug rehabilitation program. With 70 centers in 29 countries, including Denmark, Narconon has enabled thousands of addicts, many of them hard-core heroin abusers, to free themselves from their addictions. Narconon uses the drug rehabilitation methods developed by L. Ron Hubbard and has distinguished itself with an unparalleled record of success and lowered relapse rates.
While Scientologists are not opposed to the use of medical drugs and antibiotics for the treatment of physical conditions, they use neither street drugs nor any of the dangerous, mind-altering pharmaceuticals pushed as a solution to everything from depression to being overweight. To Scientologists, the reason is simple: drugs not only threaten one physically but spiritually.
“Chemical Masks”
Volunteers of the Say No to Drugs campaign provide a clear and simple message to youth: Despite what you see on television or in popular magazines, drugs do not solve one’s problems or make them go away. They are chemical masks hiding a deadly enemy. That message is reaching thousands of youth and adults, and across Europe, people have told campaign volunteers that they changed their minds about drugs as a result — deciding to not take them, or to help get their friends off them.
The Church invites public participation in the Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life campaign, and also urges that all churches, youth groups and social agencies that interact with youth give drug education and prevention the importance it deserves.
The comprehensive information campaign of the Say No to Drugs campaign opens up important discussion on the subject of drugs with parents, students, teachers, business people and many others. Such public discussion makes facts and experiences known and creates avenues to counter each onslaught of expensive advertising promoting the latest “happiness drug” to the consumer. In contrast, thousands of citizens will speak of nothing but the trouble or sorrow they have personally experienced or seen among family or friends as a result of psychotropic drugs — illegal or legal.
Public Response
“I am so thankful that someone is working to inform youth of the truth about drugs,” said one Dane on the walking street in Copenhagen — a comment echoed by hundreds.
Repeatedly, Danes have mentioned that drug education and information activities are almost non-existent in the schools.
“You are the only group I have seen working to turn young people away from drugs,” said one citizen. “It seems like school and government leaders have given up, but how hard is it, really, to educate kids about drugs? Someone just has to do it, and you are. I salute you.”
The need for drug education is ever more apparent on a daily basis, as the Say No to Drugs Volunteers are met with continual support and encouragement, as well as volumes of requests for the educational brochures they distribute about drugs.
Campaign organizers and public alike agree that wide public education on the nature of drugs is a vital part of the long-term answer to the problem.
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