Moreover, it is reckoned that around 800,000 are alcoholics, or 8 percent of the population. Today easily gained pleasure is in much demand, and mind-altering substances have become a convenient way of fulfilling that need, Zacher said.

The ratio of first-time users of substances among the under-18s is 45 percent, he added. A major goal should be to cut this to 30% by 2020, he said. Beside police raids, an important element of the national drug strategy is targeting the end-user. “If the occasional weekend user would not be inclined to buy the stuff, the supplier won’t be able to sell their product, so game-over.

” Zacher said the “magic solution” would be to push for a change of attitude -- to change fashions in such a way that young people are no longer attracted to drugs. “But it takes time to achieve that,” he said.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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