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The Thoughts of the Youth in Turkey on Drug-fighting Policies
JOURNAL OF YOUTH RESEARCHES
• When the proportion of participants who stated that they had met a drug-using
person was also taken into consideration; the reaction to be shown against her/
him when a drug addict is encountered as very important for the effectiveness of
the fight against that problem. The reaction towards drug-addicted individuals will
have an effect on either increasing or decreasing the addiction levels. 24.1% of the
respondents stated that they would advise to individuals with drug addicts around
that they should not use such drug substances by describing their damages, while
32% of them stated that they would take them to hospital or to the treatment cent-
res such as AMATEM or ÇAÇATEM. The findings also show that some of the young
people do not know exactly what to do when they see or meet an addicted person.
As already mentioned, the reaction shown to drug addicted people is very impor-
tant. Therefore, it will be very useful to increase the consciousness of the young
people in that aspect, and to raise their awareness of how to behave and where to
apply when they meet an addicted person.
• 83.2% of the participants think that the fight against drugs is not sufficient in Tur-
key. In fact, there are efficient and effective policies to combat the drug problem
and they are implemented successfully in Turkey. Given the drug seizure quantities
in Turkey, it is an indicator that supply-side policies, which are dealt in the context
of the policies on combating drug problems, are more successful than those of
many European countries. However, a problem has arisen about being unable to
inform the young people about those policies, and to adequately explain the acti-
vities carried out in this area to the citizens.
• The participants think that prevention policies against the sale of drugs in the fight
against drugs will be effective. Of course, the prevention of the supply of such
substances is extremely important in the fight against drugs. However, in order
to solve the problem that has reached far beyond the problem of public order,
policing measures are not enough in today’s conditions. The drug seizure through
the operations by the police, gendarmerie and customs agencies is not enough for
eliminating the problem. Therefore, given the fact that the supply of such materials
is not by legal means and that there is a possibility that there will be a great number
of people who supply such materials as long as they are demanded, it should not
be ignored that the success rate of the fight against will be limited. Rather, it would
be more functional to make more appropriate prevention policies for demand redu-
ction and to form social consciousness, in this context.
• A significant proportion of respondents stated that they encountered advertise-
ments or promotional films, which are important factors in the development of
social awareness to prevent drug use, related to the harms of narcotic substances
in written and visual media such as newspapers, TV and radio.
