Illegal drug use: An anthropological drug phenomenon

Abstract

This paper aims to present several causes that generate an increasing consumption of illegal drugs in Europe and Romania, as well as some aspects of how young people perceive the medical and psychosocial effects of this expenditure. Also, the study will present a series of arguments for which illicit drug use is associated with an anthropological phenomenon. A total of 30 students from the Faculty of Medicine took part in this qualitative study, conducted between April and June 2017. The students were female and male, Romanian and other. The sampling was random, on a voluntary basis. The structured interview method was used. The increased incidence of drug use may be due to the rebellious nature and curiosity of adolescents, but also to the exponential growth of stress, people looking for the pleasure and ecstasy that drug use offers them. Most of the interviewed students said they would recognize an illegal drug quite hard, that they were tempted and had the opportunity to consume illicit drugs, but either refused or tried several times. Most have said that drug use and abuse would radically change their personal and professional lives and cause sadness in their families. Illegal drug use is considered an anthropological phenomenon because it can be perceived as a 'fashionable' thing by young people who want more independence. Illegal drug use, as an anthropological phenomenon influenced by cultural evolution and socioeconomic conditions, has no benefit for health, for family, and society.