Scholarly record

ASPECTS OF DRUG USE AND METHADONE SUBSTITUTION TREATMENT

Monica Alexandru

Abstract

Drug use in Romania is a dynamic phenomenon, being heavily influenced by a multitude of social and economic factors. Romania was initially a transit country, but soon it became one of the profitable areas of drug trafficking. This work started with an attempt to highlight the reasons for young people to initiate consumption, but also to see the importance of methadone substitution treatment for former heroin users in their effort to achieve abstinence. For this study, we selected 20 former heroin users currently under methadone treatment because they had the experience of using illegal drugs (heroin) on the one hand, and methadone substitution treatment, on the other hand, that made their general condition to be a normal, unaltered one, allowing them to provide relevant information. The objectives of this study were: to identify the reasons that prompted young people to initiate drug use and to determine the perception of former heroin users about the advantages and disadvantages of methadone substitution treatment. As a research method, we used the sociological survey based on the interview technique to learn and interpret in depth the data necessary for the research. The technique used is the interview, semi-structured, of depth applied face to face. We chose the questions in the interview guide to refer to the reasons that prompted young people to initiate drug use, but also to their perception of the positive and negative effects of methadone treatment.

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