Drug Abuse
Is Drug Abuse a Problem in Latin America?
Yes
Drug abuse has reached epidemic proportions in Latin America, and the troubles stemming from it continue to expand. Although statistics vary by country, the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) reports that binge drinking and marijuana use tend to be as prevalent and as problematic in Latin America as in the United States and Canada.
What percentage of the population struggles with depression in Latin America?
5%
What has Chile done to prevent the rise in incarceration?
Chile now offers judicially supervised rehabilitation in place of jail time for some offenders.
What programs are available in Brazil?
The Associacão Promocional Orocão e Trabalho (APOT) (Promotional Association for Prayer and Work).
Recovery Program for Drug Dependents and Alcoholics (Male)
Recovery Program for Drug Dependents and Alcoholics (Female)
Street Kids Program
Program of Alternative Creativity and Professional Development
What is Ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a drink prepared by shamans by boiling the vines of banisteriopsis caapi and leaves of the Psychotria viridis, locally known as chacruna or chaliponga plants.
Is inhalant abuse in Latin America a problem?
CICAD reports that 9.95 percent of secondary school students across Brazil reported past-month use of inhalants in a 2011 survey. Additionally Latin Americans are using inhalants more frequently as they get older, and this abuse of these drugs is taking a serious toll on the health of users.
What percentage of the population struggles with anxiety disorder in Latin America?
3.4%
What has Ecuador done to prevent the rise in incarceration?
Ecuador has pending legislation to clearly outline specified amounts of drugs that are okay for transport so that those with small amounts of illicit substances will not face the same charges as those trafficking large amounts.
What is the most successful program available in Peru?
The Instituto Mundo Libre
Involvement of key stakeholders.
Tailoring activities to local needs
Decrease in substance abuse and maladaptive behaviors
Integrating family into the therapeutic approach.
Investing in client development.
Applying effective outreach and media strategies.
Recruiting and retaining motivated volunteers.
Identifying, recruiting, and retaining clients based on their needs and program objectives.
Contributing to the removal of social, cultural, and economic barriers within and beyond the community.
What are Ayahuasca's effect on the body?
Drinking ayahuasca affects human consciousness within a half hour of consumption. While the effects peak after two hours, they can last up to six. Along with visual and auditory hallucinations, the drug can increase blood pressure and heart rate.
Is Marijuana abuse in Latin America a problem?
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a study of six of the region’s nations, in which 20.4 percent of Uruguay citizens, 20.7 percent of Chileans, 27.5 percent of Argentinians, 35.7 percent of Peruvians, and 51.2 percent Ecuador’s marijuana-using population were classified as being addicted to cannabis.
How many Latin Americans get proper mental health treatment?
mental health concerns can overlap with substance abuse and addiction. When they do, treatment becomes even more necessary and important. Unfortunately, PAHO explains that only 6 out of 10 Latin Americans who need mental health treatment receive it.
What has Brazil done to prevent the rise in incarceration?
Brazil has plans to establish rehabilitation shelters for drug-dependent individuals rather than send these individuals to prison.
What program is most successful in Argentina?
Cambio
The Cambio program’s philosophy is that human behavior is the output of an interrelated system involving individuals, families, and all other elements of a person’s social support network. A minimum requirement to enter the residential program is a supportive family that is willing to become part of the treatment process.
What negative side effects does Ayahuasca have?
The drug is a powerful purgative and removes a significant number of toxins from the body. But, the drug is dangerous as it can cause feelings of terror and hopelessness. Many people who try the drug report feeling that death was upon them and could not be stopped.
Is Alcohol abuse a problem in Latin America?
UNODC reports that nearly 50 percent of Chile’s population and over 47 percent of Argentina’s admit to past-month alcohol use. There is an 80 percent rate of lifetime alcohol use in both Uruguay and Ecuador. This is a problem for teens and young adults as well, as nearly 35 percent of the under-15 population in Brazil and almost 38 percent in Columbia consume alcohol each month.
What is the general populations view on mental illness?
Attitudes towards drug use and drug users are largely negative in Latin America despite growing awareness about these concerns as mental health and public health issues.
What has Columbia done to prevent the rise in incarceration?
In Colombia citizens are now free to carry small amounts of cannabis or cocaine without fear of persecution. More and better treatment is available.
What is the Street kids program goal in Brazil?
The goal is to offer children and adolescents a therapeutic program intervention focused on recovery and family and/or social reintegration
The Street Kids program offers children the opportunity to participate in a sociotherapeutic-educational process in a provisional and/or permanent home. Incentives are provided to develop alternative life strategies (physical, psychological, spiritual, and civic). In accordance with the APOT philosophy, the program is based on spirituality, work, and support therapy.
What other dangers come with Ayahuasca?
Along with the potential stress drinking ayahuasca can cause the body, one must be aware of the danger of being mistreated by locals wanting to make money off the growing industry. For thousands of years, Shamans trained to administer herbal cures. Now, considering the increased market, fake Shamans arrived on the scene in South America. Some of them are gringos and others are natives, but none of them are trained properly.
Is Cocaine abuse a problem in Latin America?
Cocaine is frequently used in Latin America. CICAD shares that twenty-seven percent of all cocaine consumed in the Americas is done so by South Americans. In Uruguay 3.5 percent of the population uses cocaine. In Peru, 1.4 percent of the population uses. Crack and cocaine paste — the initial residue that is extracted from the dried coca leaf — are popular among all age groups, but cocaine paste is growing in popularity with teens and young adults.
How is Mental Health relevant to drug abuse?
Drug abuse does more than put physical health at risk. It’s physical and psychological side effects can limit quality of life. Abuse and addiction erode interpersonal and familial relationships. They create financial and legal trouble. And they impact mental health.
What is the state of Overdose Prevention Programs in Latin America?
Overdose prevention programs are few and hard to find in Latin America, and people often do not seek medical help for overdose because of worries about law enforcement.
What connection does the United States of America have with Latin American programs?
The State Department’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) states that foreign countries receive assistance from the United States Government to address escalating drug use and help improve local treatment systems.
What is a good reason to risk your life by travelling to Latin america for Ayahuasca treatment?
There is no good reason, when a person chooses treatment to combat the effects of addiction, that treatment should be safe, monitored, and life enhancing. Whatever help ayahuasca may have offered indigenous people at combating addictions, it has been corrupted by greed and financial gain. Reports of abuse, molestation, rape, and inadequate services for those who experience extreme traumatic visions are cause for alarm