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Saeed Madani

A rapper has recently released a song called “National Garden” in which he attempts to depict the social situation and crises in Iranian society. In this music video, the voices of countless victims of social damages cry out to the authorities: “Do you hear our voices?” Now I, alongside the young and adolescent victims of unemployment, poverty, inequality, suicide, prostitution, and addiction, must also raise my voice: “Do you hear our voices?” Since the late 1980s, many social commentators, psychologists, criminologists, and sociologists have warned that Iranian society is sick and something must be done to cure it. In these past two decades, there have been politicians and managers who have had ears to listen and hands to take action, but at the same time, many decision-makers have chosen to ignore these warnings or label them as conspiracies to discredit the system. All of this is in the past, and today in the month of Mehr in 1395 (2016),

Apparently, today everyone has reached a consensus that the social situation is in a dire state. What has happened? Have only a larger number of young people become victims of social issues and problems? No. The situation is much more concerning. In fact, in addition to the prevalence and emergence of social problems and damages, their patterns have also changed, meaning that the problems have become much more difficult and complex. The emergence and prevalence indicate a quantitative growth and number of victims, while the pattern refers to the quality and nature of the issues and problems. Let us continue the discussion by focusing on the situation of addiction and substance abuse.

The number of substance users, including addicts and consumers, has increased. The most conservative estimates put the total of these two groups at around three million, while a more realistic assessment puts it at two to three times that number. This means that the prevalence and occurrence have increased. This means that today, compared to previous decades, the ratio and number of people who have fallen victim to addiction have increased, and each year, more people are added to the ranks of addicts and consumers. “Do you hear our voices?”

But more important than the increase in the population of substance consumers is the change in patterns, such as the age of onset of consumption, age of addicts, method of consumption, type of substances used, consumer norms, consumer behaviors, gender of victims, education, employment status, family status, and many other characteristics that have changed. This change could have had a positive direction and made our work today easier in prevention, control, and reduction of substance consumption; but unfortunately, this has not happened and has made the difficulties of controlling the current situation much harder than in the 1990s or after. Let me refer to some sections of one of the latest studies on the status of substance consumption to shed light on the subject.

The National Survey of Addiction Prevalence, conducted in 1394 (2015-2016) throughout the country and among three socio-economic groups (low, middle, and high) in the 15-64 age group of both rural and urban populations, contains important and valuable information in this field, which is referred to in its headings.

• Fortunately, Tramadol is still at the top of the list of addictive substances consumed by Iranian addicts, and unfortunately, some studies have refuted this result and reported that glass is the most consumed substance by Iranian addicts. Experts unanimously believe that the physical and psychological effects of glass consumption are much greater than Tramadol. In addition, quitting Tramadol is much easier for users compared to quitting glass.

• Consumers often use multiple substances at the same time. In particular, simultaneous use of alcohol and psychotropic pills with triac, glass or other drugs or stimulants has created a much more chaotic situation. Simultaneous use not only makes it very difficult or even impossible to quit, but also increases the level of intoxication of consumers and greatly increases the risk of engaging in risky behaviors and contracting infectious diseases, especially AIDS and hepatitis.

• In the past, addiction was considered a male problem and women rarely developed dependence on substances. It was just like prostitution, which was seen as a female issue and only a few men engaged in it for income. However, today it can be confidently stated that addiction has also found its place among women and about 10% of addicts are women. Another important point in the national survey is the decrease in the age gap between the start of substance use among women and men. In the past, only a few girls and women started using substances much later than men, but today adolescent girls and boys start using substances at a similar age; which means that in the future, the proportion of women in the addicted population will continue to increase. According to some reports, the number of female addicts has quadrupled in the past 10 years and it is estimated that the rate of women’s inclination towards substance use has doubled.

• The age of starting substance use is rapidly decreasing. Now, talking about students as substance users and addicts is not a new issue. According to some studies, about two percent of students are substance users. “Can you hear our voices?”

• For me, who has been closely following the situation of addiction for years, reading and hearing these findings is distressing and concerning. But we have no choice but to keep repeating until our hearing is regained. 37% of addicts in the country have a diploma, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree. You hear the sound of change. Iranian addicts are educated, the majority of them are in their active and young age, married, and have no hope of being freed from addiction.

• Addiction has always been one of the most fundamental social harms in the country, but today the scope of the consequences of increasing tendency towards substance abuse has direct effects on other harms, including homelessness, cardboard sleeping, divorce, theft, murder, and violence.

“Addiction is undoubtedly the result of macroeconomic, social, and cultural policies. Poverty and inequality, along with economic recession, have brought society to the brink of collapse, with its overflow being substance abuse and the breakdown of accepted values and norms. Undoubtedly, the project of creating a healthy society after the revolution has been destroyed, but will sacrificing the preservation of national identity, sense of belonging and attachment to the Iranian society, and strengthening public resources for the preservation of the integrity of the Iranian society be worth the continuation of selfishness, imprudence, and narrow-mindedness? “Oh, can you hear our voice?”

According to Herodotus: “The most detestable and painful torture for humans is to be aware of all corruption and yet be unable to reform anything.”