Problems of drug abuse and preventive measures in Poland

An increasing abuse of drugs emerged among young people in Poland at the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. According to information provided by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, there are currently 35,000 drug abusers, but the actual number is estimated at approximately 200,000. The abuse of extract from poppy straw and the inhalation of volatile solvents, such as glue and paint remover, are the major drug abuse problems. Addicts prepare a decoction of poppy straw for injection, and morphine and heroin have been clandestinely manufactured in very elementary home-made laboratories. Recently, methamphetamine hydrochloride and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) have also been illicitly produced in such home-made laboratories. The increasing drug abuse problem has prompted the authorities to prepare new complementary drug control legislation, the Act on the Prevention of Narcotic Addiction, which was adopted on 31 January 1985. The Act provides for more effective preventive and treatment measures, as well as severe punishment for involvement in illicit drug trafficking. Treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration of drug-dependent persons is provided on a voluntary basis, except for persons convicted of drug-related offences and for persons under 18 years of age, in which case treatment may be compulsory.