Drug addiction getting higher in Iraq
Staff members who are working at this center talk about the challenges and difficulties they face, especially from people who involuntarily or forced by their families to receive treatment.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – drug misusing is getting higher in Iraqi state, due to the increasing of drug addicts in Iraq, the number of visitors to rehabilitation centers increases too, according to the drug misuse treatment centers.
Two of the patients in some of those centers in Baghdad talked to Kurdistan24 about their journey ending up becoming addicted.
One of them became addicted through a medical injection after the medical surgery, which later could not quit. Yet, their friend had a different approach to the drug, reveling that by putting drugs in a cigarette developed addiction.
Listening to the tragic stories from the drug misusers, disclosing the tragedy that escorted their addiction journey in their life they experienced as a result of the illicit drugs, would give deeper reckoning, how their dreams vanished, families broke, and clearly uttering that their lives destroyed.
Iraq clearly experiences a high number of drug misusers. Fortunately, some of the ex-drug misusers gave up and sought treatment from the Treatment and Quit Centers.
Who receives treatment in those centers, tell painful stories, including Rwaida's mother and Fatin, the first one started getting addicted to drugs after receiving a medication by injection as a pain relief, but it led to drug misusing, and worse followed which was losing her whole family.
The latter said she could not quit taking a pill (illegal substance) and lost her family too.
“After I had a surgery for thyroid, the doctor offered me a treatment by two injections, from that I got addicted, I was addicted to it for five years” Rwaida's mother said.
“A friend of mine traveled abroad, returned, showing me a special substance. Without letting me know, had put that substance in shisha I was smoking, for the following day I realized it was a drug, I asked for more.” Fatin told her addiction journey, “I couldn't get calm with crystals, so I used heroin, then gabapentin and many other substances, even tried cocaine. People thought I was fine, but suddenly I lost everything because of the drugs.”
Staff members who are working at this center talk about the challenges and difficulties they face, especially from people who involuntarily or forced by their families to receive treatment.
The Manager of the Qanat Center for Social Training, Walid Hassan, stated to Kurdistan24 “this center has opened about a year and a half, we receive 9,000 to 10,000 visitors.”
Hassan further disclosed “unfortunately, we don’t have pharmacies or consultancy clinics. Some of the visitors come by their will seeking treatment, but some others are forced by their families and relates, the second one is harder to tackle”
Recently, many rehabilitation centers opened in Baghdad, they are trying to reduce the numbers of drug misusers.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry, annually, arrests thousands of drug misusers and dealers, recently drug misusing spreads widely in Iraqi society.
