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Laurent Karila (Addiction psychiatrist)
According to the latest report from the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends (OFDT), drug use is exploding in France. How can this be explained? Doctissimo interviewed Professor Laurent Karila, psychiatrist and addiction specialist at Paul-Brousse Hospital.
Cocaine, cannabis, MDMA… The French are taking drugs more and more. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies (OFDT) published this Wednesday, June 26. A questionnaire submitted to 12,490 people aged 18 to 64, which reveals the effects of this illicit consumption in France.
Cocaine, LSD, nitrous oxide… All products are experiencing increasing demand
The first conclusion that can be drawn from this work is that all narcotics are experiencing increasing demand. Hallucinogenic mushrooms, poppers, nitrous oxide, LSD, cocaine, ecstasy… Consumption levels are all increasing sharply.
“The consumption of illicit drugs (…), which had experienced a period of stabilisation between 2014 and 2017, shows sharply increasing levels of use in 2023, regardless of the psychoactive substance, and in particular for stimulants” note the authors of the study.
Cocaine and MDMA consumption exploding
The report also shows that among adults, cocaine use in the last twelve months increased tenfold between 1992 and 2023, going from 0.3 to 2.7%. In total, nearly one in ten adults would have already used cocaine in 2023, compared to 6% in 2017.
On the MDMA side, the same observation. In 2023, 1.8% of French people say they have consumed it in the past year, compared to 0.2% in 2000, and one in twelve French people have already tried it. Women in particular are increasingly consumers of this party drug.
A phenomenon which was “predictable”, according to Laurent Karila
How can this situation be explained? Asked, Professor Laurent Karila, author of Doctor: Addict or not? published by Harper Collins and the Addiktion podcast does not explain this increase in increased MDMA consumption among women. “I don’t have any specific arguments to put forward to explain this. MDMA remains a “party” drug, which is stimulating and mainly used for recreational use. explains the doctor.
On the other hand, the explosion in cocaine consumption was predictable, according to him.It was expected. Since 2009, I have been seeing patients in consultation with a addiction to this drug and I see that more and more people are concerned, over the last fifteen years or so”.
For Laurent Karila, the cut prices, the increase in the availability of the product, the uberization of its delivery and its consumption by varied profiles, ranging from the unemployed to the young person to the housewife, explain these sharply increasing figures.
In case of cocaine addiction, what is the treatment?It is carried out in a specialized department where specific consultations are carried out, generally on an outpatient basis. explains the doctor. “But there is no specific treatment for cocaine addiction: we rely on data from the literature and our experiences to treat patients, generally with off-label prescriptions.“.
We still have to recognize that we suffer from an addiction. How to do ? To do this, Laurent Karila has developed a fairly easy mnemonic: the 5 Cs.
- Control (with a loss of control over the product);
- Consumption (with irrepressible urge to consume);
- Compulsion (with compulsive activity towards the product);
- Continuous (continuous use of the product);
- Consequences (continued use despite negative consequences).
“If you are faced with these problems with a product, for 12 months, it is because there is a dependency. It is necessary to consult, at that time“concludes the doctor.