Opium And Heroin Addiction Is Going To Be Afghanistan's Long Term Problem

In Afghanistan, most children become addicts as a result of their parents - passively inhaling their fathers’ opium smoke in the house. (Reuters)

Afghanistan’s Growing Number Of Child Drug Addicts -- Al Arabiya

They play badminton, kick a ball around and huddle over computer games just like normal children.

Except that they are recovering drug addicts aged around three to 12, representing a growing proportion of drug users in war-torn Afghanistan.

In response, increasing numbers of rehabilitation centers are weaning such children off their addiction and giving them a new appetite for life in a country that produces 90 percent of the world’s opium used to make heroin.

While there are no statistics for kids, the rate of relapse is high for their parents, experts say.

Read more ....

Update: Adolescent drug addiction on the rise in Afghanistan -- Radio Australia

My Comment: I suspect that these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.

The Growing Problem Of Addiction In The U.S. Military

Report: Military Hospitals Over Prescribing Painkillers, Leading Soldiers On A Path To Addition -- CBS News

(CBS News) A branch of the National Academy of Sciences reported today that doctors in military hospitals appear to be over prescribing pain pills and the result is often addiction.

Thirty-year-old Michael Long still has the bullet he took in his back during a tour in Iraq in 2005. He says removing it would have been too dangerous.

You can feel the bullet by just touching the bullet wound on Long's back. He said the injury is still "extremely painful."

In a military hospital, he got hooked on painkillers.

Read more ....

More News On The Growing Problem Of Addiction In The U.S. Military

Study: Military drinking 'culture' now a 'crisis' -- AP
Study: Nearly Half of Military Binge Drinks; Painkiller Abuse Skyrockets -- US News and World Report
Study: Level of military substance abuse now a ‘public health crisis,’ Pentagon care outdated -- Washington Post/AP
Military Substance-Abuse Programs Critiqued by Panel -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Report: Military not adequately handling addiction in the ranks -- CBS
Military not doing enough to help soldiers with substance abuse, study finds -- Baltimore Sun
Military hospitals helping to addict our troops to pain medicines -- Examiner
The Downer Side of War -- Time