Category: Articles

It’s tempting to blame alcoholism and drug addiction within a society on any number of things: liberal attitudes, cultural exposure through media, emphasis on individual freedom of choice, an ethos that includes “a right to feel good”—all these and more can be pointed to as society’s collective responsibility for alcohol and drug problems. And these, of course, entirely leave aside the issue of poverty, as well as other mental health issues and policies.

Now, consider a nation with harshly conservative attitudes, censored media, and a culture centered around a state-sponsored religion with a fundamentalist bent, and try to explain a drug and alcohol problem in the same light.

Saudi Arabia is experiencing a substance-abuse problem to the extent that compulsory drug testing is being considered. A judge in the city of Jeddah points to the recent explosion in divorce rates (over 500 a month recently) stemming from alcohol and drug use and the subsequent abuse of wives. Speed, in the form of Captagon (a Ritalin-like stimulant) has reached epidemic proportions in some areas. Hashish, alcohol, and heroin are also abused. All of these are highly illegal and possession could lead to imprisonment or the death penalty.

Interestingly, according to an article from the Department of Neurosciences at King Faisal Hospital, “Peer pressure and psychosocial stresses were risk factors for initiation as well as relapse of substance abuse. Anxiety, depression . . . were the most common co-morbid disorders.”

So, the common factors, across societal boundaries, appear to be peer pressure, stress, anxiety, and depression. Once these are present, and a particular substance or combination of substances offers temporary relief, self-medication and repetition follow, along with a high risk for addiction. As long as the underlying factors are relieved, they don’t get addressed in their own right and eventually become aggravated and more difficult to find relief from, hence the cycle of addiction.

For those caught in the progressive grip of addiction—can’t moderate and can’t abstain altogether—help is available through treatment. Medical detox may be necessary, after which the addict must learn how to face and be free from the underlying factors of addiction.

North Korea, known as “the Hermit Kingdom” for its insularity is experiencing its own drug epidemic. Amidon addiction is on the rise as more citizens chose it as their new “drug of choice,” following a predictable curve after years of methamphetamine use (speed burnout is often followed by opiate addiction).

Amidon is a synthetic opiate, originally invented by the Germans in 1937 in anticipation of the need for a reliable source of pain medication as the war machine cranked up. It is known in the US that methadone, which has been used to wean addicts from heroin dependency, leads to an increase in methadone addiction, which in turn results in around 5,000 deaths each year in the US, more than the number of heroin deaths.

In the 1990s, the North Korean government managed the manufacture of opium, meth, and other drugs, but the purpose was export in order to finance government operations. Since then, the drug business has privatized. Abandoned factories make ideal clandestine labs, and entrepreneurs—along with unemployed scientists and technicians—have taken over. Last December, a conspiracy to smuggle 220 pounds of methamphetamine was thwarted by US authorities; the defendants claimed that the shipment originated in North Korea.

Although usually severe in its policing of its citizens, North Korea has shown minimal interest in dealing with drug users. Meth use is as casual as drinking tea, opium paste is prescribed for pain relief, and marijuana is legal and frequently grown at home. In a country where wholesome recreation is minimal, choices are limited, and food is scarce, it is not surprising that drugs have become popular. Western observers, with limited access to information, will have to watch from afar as Amidon addiction plays out in a nation lacking a treatment infrastructure.