One of the most important effects of taking illicit drugs on society is the negative health consequences experienced by its members, and drug use imposes a huge financial burden on society. Drug treatment at the level of countries in the world Studies conducted in the United States indicated that the loss is equivalent to between 0.3 and 0.4 percent of the total output. The costs of drug-related crime are also significant, as a study conducted in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland indicates that the costs involved On drug-related crime, fraud, burglary, robbery and theft in England and Wales equals 1.6 of GDP.
Factors determining the shape and development of the problem:
It is clear that the development of the complex global problem of illicit drugs is driven by a number of factors. So, socio-demographic trends, such as the gender and age balance of the population and the rate of urbanization, are influential factors. If the demographic characteristics of a society change, the behavior related to drug use may also change accordingly, and social and economic factors, including rates of disposable income, inequality and unemployment have an influential role in this regard. Increasing levels of disposable income may allow more people to buy drugs, while higher rates of inequality and unemployment may increase the propensity to take illegal drugs among those exposed to it.
There is also a broad category of socio-cultural stimuli that, in turn, affect the development of the problem, albeit in ways that are often difficult to measure. These stimuli include changes in traditional value systems and the emergence of a relatively unified “youth culture” in many countries.
Evolution of the problem in the future:
One important and noteworthy development is the ongoing transformation in developed and developing countries, which is a burden on countries that are relatively unprepared to cope. Demographic trends suggest that the total number of drug users in developing countries will increase significantly not only because of population growth but also because of their younger and urbanizing populations. Moreover, the gender gap may begin to narrow as developing countries are likely to experience an increase in female drug use following the removal of sociocultural barriers and the increase of gender equality.
Drug use and its effects on health:
Globally, it is estimated that in 2010, between 153 and 300 million people aged 15 to 65 years, or 3.4 to 6.6% of the world’s population in this age group, had taken an illegal substance at least once during the previous year, and thus drug use remained illegal. Legal drug users are stable but problematic drug users are estimated to number between 15.5 million and 38.6 million people (approximately 12%) of illegal drug users, including those with substance use disorders, drug-related deaths account for between 0.5% and 1.3% of all deaths globally are in age groups between 10 and 64 years but differ substantially from region to region and the highest drug-related deaths are in North America and Oceania.
These deaths account for about one out of every 25 deaths among people aged 64 to 10 years, and in Asia about one case out of 155 deaths, in Europe one case out of 115 deaths, and in Africa one case out of every 105 deaths, and in America The reason for the high drug-related death rate in North America and Oceania is because the two regions have more problematic drug users and a better system for monitoring and reporting drug-related deaths. By comparison, capacity in Asia and Africa is limited and the monitoring of drug-related deaths A rare practice in it.