Drug addiction is on the rise. Until recently, society shamefully turned a blind eye to this urgent problem. The current situation is no better. Despite the fact that so much has already been written and re-written about drug addiction, there seems to be nothing more to add. However, despite the mountains of medical and popular science literature and the plethora of newspaper articles, most people lack an adequate understanding of the seriousness of this issue for society and for the health of each individual. Naturally, the Armed Forces are no exception. There is a fairly widespread stereotype among young people, including those in the military, that a single use of a drug does not cause much harm. If someone is dabbling in drugs, it is their personal business.

However, drug addiction is not just a habit of using drugs. It is a specific way of life, usually a path to nowhere, accompanied by health destruction and personality degradation. Unfortunately, this phenomenon tends to expand and deepen. The convenient geographical location of Russia and the CIS countries, the relative transparency of borders, and the vast potential market make society a target for drug trafficking. The Armed Forces were not immune to this trend. Unfortunately, there are many potential drug users here.

The danger is in the immediate vicinity of military camps. No amount of locks or special regimes will protect us from the impending threat. The only way to stop the "white death" is through active resistance, especially from the officer corps. However, it is alarming to see that many commanders and training officers are unaware of the severity of the problem and their role in solving it. This is a cause for concern. The situation requires immediate action. It's about the whole world standing up to fight the spreading evil.

According to statistics presented at a meeting on the state of psychiatric care in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and measures to improve it, the number of registered drug addicts has tripled across the country (in the last three years alone). The number of teenagers registered for drug addiction has increased from 24 to 74 per 100,000 people. This is a concerning statistic. It is a matter of national health and security. And let's not forget about the future recruits for the military. They are already arriving.

The chief psychiatrist of the Group of Russian Troops in Transcaucasia, the head of the psychiatric department of the Group Military Hospital, Lieutenant Colonel Yu.Alekseev, expressed some caution in connection with the above statistics when meeting with me. He particularly stressed the need to unite the efforts of commanders and superiors of all degrees in the fight against this social evil. After all, it is much easier to prevent drug addiction, a number of preventive measures and relentless propaganda work to minimize its appearance in the army environment, than to "beat on the tails" and reap the benefits of your own inactivity.

According to Yuri Vasilyevich, today's targeted efforts by military doctors alone are clearly insufficient, and an offensive on all fronts is necessary. First, individuals who are addicted to drugs in one form or another should be screened out by the military recruitment boards. Naturally, a drug addict has no place in the military. They are sick, if not completely broken (the "cure rate" remains extremely low).

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Secondly, if this addiction occurs among conscripts and contract soldiers, they should be immediately dismissed. These people should not be trusted with weapons. Finally, in order to prevent the spread of drug addiction in military units, it is necessary to conduct extensive educational work and focus on preventing such incidents. This requires the involvement of educational institutions that can help maintain and strengthen a healthy moral and psychological environment in military units. As the saying goes, "Prevention is better than cure." Therefore, it is necessary to know the enemy (in this case, the "white death" in all its forms) by sight.

What is our life? A needle?

A drug is any substance that, when introduced into the body, can alter one or more of its functions and, when used repeatedly, can lead to mental or physical dependence.

Drugs can be divided into natural and synthetic based on their origin. The first group includes substances derived from certain plants and their juices. Their use for magical, therapeutic, and euphoric purposes has been known since ancient times. The second group includes drugs that are chemically synthesized.

There are several types of drug addiction, and all of them are characterized by varying degrees of addiction to the drug. For some, it manifests itself quite quickly, for others gradually. The use of drugs in one way or another leads to withdrawal symptoms, which actually indicates "drug hunger". This condition (its extreme manifestations are called "withdrawal") is relieved or disappears after the introduction of the same drug or substance with the same psychopharmacological properties. We will not go further into the field of knowledge of narrow specialists. However, everyone needs to have basic knowledge about identifying the external signs of drug addiction.

The first thing that changes in a person who starts taking drugs is their behavior. This is often caused not so much by the drug's effects, but rather by their own reaction to their actions, which is especially important for commanders and educators who need to be sensitive to changes in their subordinates' mental and emotional state.

As a result, there are unexplained mood swings with acute phases of depression, and the person shows no desire to communicate with their colleagues and feels guilty, sometimes accompanied by a fear of punishment for their misconduct. Their behavior becomes dominated by indifference to everything that happens around them and passivity. If they are not distracted, they may spend hours sitting or lying, staring at a point, oblivious to what is happening around them. Sometimes, even a novice addict becomes aggressive towards their immediate surroundings, reacts sharply to comments, and is ready to argue for hours about anything. In order to acquire the drug, they often borrow money, coming up with various reasons that are usually quite convincing.

When left alone, such a person, especially at the beginning of the formation of a drug addiction, analyzes his behavior and even repents in his heart. In an effort to protect himself and get rid of his feelings of guilt, he tries to convince himself that he can break the bad habit at any moment. To "fence off" from doubts and negative experiences, he takes drugs again, after which he experiences remorse. The cycle repeats itself. One day, he suddenly realizes that he is "sitting""He's on a needle and has to take drugs every day. He's left alone with the "white death," and there's often no turning back..."

Really, high?

Not so long ago, there was an advertisement (or rather, an anti-advertisement) on ORT featuring a gravestone made of narcotic powder, which is not an "artistic exaggeration." If a person starts using drugs as a teenager, they rarely make it to the age of thirty.

The clinical picture of various drug addictions is very diverse, but we will focus on describing only a few that are directly related to the distribution of these drugs in Russia and the CIS countries.

Opioid addiction develops quite quickly - after twenty days of using a single opiate, physical dependence occurs in 100% of cases. Heroin, as one of the most potent varieties, can lead to complete physical dependence within a couple of days.

Heroin is a semi-synthetic derivative of morphine (the most important alkaloid in opium, which is a milky sap extracted from the cut heads of opium poppy). In its chemically pure form, it is a grayish-brown powder. Due to the potent nature of this drug and the potential for death for those who use it for the first time or in case of an overdose, drug dealers often add milk sugar to reduce its concentration. This results in a white powder that resembles morphine. It is primarily administered intravenously.

When heroin enters the body, it has a depressing effect on the brain and spinal cord. After an injection, drowsiness usually occurs, the pupils are as narrow as possible, and the pulse and breathing are slowed down. A heroin addict under the influence of heroin may seem harmless. They are usually in a semi-sleepy state. However, their behavior becomes unpredictable.

Chronic heroin use reduces appetite and leads to exhaustion and decreased resistance to infections. Heroin users are prone to infectious and viral liver inflammation. Lung diseases and endocarditis are also common. Drug overdose is the most common cause of death among drug users. Even relatively small doses of heroin can lead to death due to pulmonary edema and shock.

Among the mental complications of the heroists, the fear of withdrawal crisis ("withdrawal") prevails. They often have depressive states with suicidal thoughts. In addition, they are forced to hunt for drugs on a daily basis, taking actions that are contrary to the law: theft, violence, murder, etc.

Marijuana looks almost "harmless" compared to heroin. It is the most popular drug.

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It is popular among both drug addicts and amateurs. However, addiction to it leads to the need for other, stronger drugs, including heroin.

Under the influence of large doses of the drug, there are signs of depersonalization of the individual as a result of the loss of emotional contact with the outside world, and visual impairment. Hallucinations and paranoid thoughts are not uncommon. Marijuana, affecting changes in the field of perception, leads to visual and motor disorders. Therefore, some actions (for example, driving) become quite dangerous. It is not necessary to talk about the results that this can lead to in military conditions. Marijuana smokers often have accidents caused by misjudging distances and having a slow reaction time, as well as a lack of critical thinking about real dangers. This can lead to increased injuries. Additionally, increasing the amount of marijuana can cause a decrease in attention, disorganized thoughts, memory problems, various hallucinations, and phobias, which can lead to delusional paranoia, making it impossible to perform combat tasks. Marijuana users can be dangerous to others.

It is not difficult to recognize drug addicts who are under the influence of marijuana or hashish. Bloodshot eyes, slightly swollen eyelids, dry and sticky lips, which are licked due to the unpleasant sensation of dryness. A characteristic, grimacing-type smile is caused by facial muscle spasms. The smell of burning grass, unexplained agitation, and frequent bouts of laughter are all visible signs of marijuana poisoning that can help commanders and fellow soldiers stop a drug addict in time, preventing them from performing their duties and thus avoiding many problems.

There are plenty of temptations for military personnel, especially those serving in the southern and far eastern regions as part of peacekeeping forces. For example, growing opium poppy in Abkhazia and South Ossetia has become a lucrative business, as it is more profitable to grow poppy and hemp instead of corn and potatoes. In South Ossetia alone, law enforcement agencies have initiated 13 criminal cases related to drugs over the past year. A 76-year-old man living near Lake Kozi has set a record. More than 15 kilograms of hemp and about 7 kilograms of poppy straw were seized from the owner of an entire marijuana plantation. Interestingly, the "planter" himself did not indulge in marijuana, but had well-established distribution channels. The consumers of his "agricultural products" were mostly young people and soldiers from peacekeeping units.

Of course, we can continue talking about drug addiction and its manifestations, but the main point seems to be not the classification of drugs and their dependence, nor the description of the clinical pictures of individual manifestations of drug addiction. It is important for everyone to understand the severity of the problem at hand and to listen to the idea expressed by Lieutenant Colonel Yu. Alekseev about uniting the efforts of all commanders, chiefs, and officers of educational institutions in preventing drug use, which could completely eradicate this social evil from the military environment*.

* Materials of the EPC ("Encyclopedia of Crimes and Catastrophes") "Drugs and poisons"were used in the correspondence.

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