Ma Kyung-hee

Due to a lack of appropriate education, many Koreans do not understand why and how people become addicted to both legitimate (i.e. prescription) and illicit drugs.

They erroneously think that using drugs is always an individual choice, and so is quitting; with strong willpower, many believe that people can quit anytime they desire to and return to a normal life with ease. In reality, drug addiction is a complex mental illness that changes the brain's structure and function, and recovery requires more than good intentions. Those of us, including these two authors, who once were or have been working in the specialist area of addiction, can attest to this with countless heartbreaking stories. Most addicts do not get help. And of those that do, even the strong-willed generally fail and are unable to fully recover. Ongoing education is fundamental to prevention and recovery.

Kim Hyun-jung

A successful recovery from drug addiction hinges largely upon understanding the harmful effects of drugs on our brain and body and developing strategies to cope with cravings in order to deal with relapse accordingly. Accessing accurate information is just as critical as receiving external support during the recovery process. However, the current anti-drug narratives in Korea tend to focus overly on abstinence and willpower. The overall message suggests that drug use can lead to dependence and addiction even if it is just one instance, and therefore all drugs should be forbidden. This abstinence-heavy message ill-prepares people to cope with addiction, while simultaneously fueling curiosity for illicit drugs in some.

Curiosity is the number one cause of narcotic drug-related crimes according to the "Drug-Related Crime White Paper" published by the Korean Supreme Prosecutors' Office in 2022. Strong messages lacking the support of proper education can pique curiosity in certain individuals, leading many to become involved in criminal activities. Mainstream media also plays an important role in prompting curiosity. Although the media predominately use shaming and stigmatizing language to portray drug addicts, some films and dramas normalize and even glamorize addiction with romanticized narratives. Celebrity stories are typically sensationalized and include inaccurate and oversimplified information. Their stories could be used as a venue to deliver accurate information about drug addiction and discuss pertinent programs and services for now and the future.

In our line of work, we often meet people who naively believe that there would be no legal liability should they use drugs; they tend to equate drug use only with feelings of euphoria and pleasure with no negative ramifications. Brain researchers assert that repeated use of certain drugs increasingly reduces feelings of pleasure; pain quickly follows, making them want more to relieve that pain via self-medication (more drug use). This cycle can lead to various mental health complications including anxiety, depression and insomnia. Breaking this cycle is not easy.

Some people think that as long as they purchase drugs using an anonymous transaction and do drugs alone, their chance of getting caught would be slim. But they need to think again. Their leave-no-trail strategy will not work as well as they think. In reality, dealers get caught and give investigators their clients' names in return for reduced sentences. And soon the clients find themselves arrested by the police. Yet this aside, drug use slowly eats away at and compromises the very humanity of users.

Drug use trends in Korea presented by the Korean Supreme Prosecutors' Office show the percentage of teenagers and young adults reporting substance use has increased significantly since the outbreak of the pandemic. The disruptions to everyday life coupled with social isolation have contributed to this change. This raises concerns among many.

In many Western countries, marijuana is considered a gateway drug for youth. In Korea, the main gateway is prescription medication, specifically psychotropic drugs, including appetite suppressants, sedatives and pain-relieving medications. Internal and external factors, such as peer pressure, fomented curiosity, and ignorance, often lead to unhealthy life choices that have the potential to affect physical and mental health in the short and long term.

When schools provide preventative drug education, often strong resistance comes from parents because of concerns that preventative education triggers curiosity among youth, and that this curiosity would lead them to try drugs when they otherwise wouldn't have. As a result, the education often fails to get to the point. The human brain is still developing in teens and does not complete its development until approximately the mid 20s. Considering this, age-appropriate and well-coordinated preventative education is urgently required, and school personnel need to seek ways to collaborate with community members to maximize its effectiveness.

A common misconception is that prescription medications are safer than illicit drugs. Of course, if prescription drugs are taken as instructed, a risk of dependence may be reduced. In Korea, easy access to prescription medication is associated with a rise in prescription drug abuse. Patients can obtain prescription medicines from multiple doctors after brief interviews. Or they may gain access to drugs originally prescribed for relatives. These drugs are often abused, distributed to friends, or sold online for profit without understanding the legal ramifications. We hear from news outlets about the abuse of prescription medication among teens and young adults, such as a group of high school students caught experimenting with a potent synthetic opioid drug, or a young man abusing painkillers after the initial prescription from his doctor failed to ameliorate his headache. These drug habits could lead them to addiction. This suggests the need for greater involvement of doctors in patient education and use-monitoring of medications.

Recovery from addiction is a tough business, and it requires multi-level co-operation and collaboration. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, between 40 and 60 percent of people recovering from drug addiction relapse after a short period of abstinence. Those percentages may vary depending on multiple factors including the seriousness of the actual drug in question, i.e., recovery from methamphetamine addiction is virtually nil among those that are forced into recovery programs by the criminal justice system. But it should be mentioned that some manage to reach the end of the tunnel and live a healthy life. However, addicts cannot achieve this alone.

Apart from strong determination, individuals who struggle with addiction need to seek professional help and guidance. Unconditional support from their loved ones also helps addicts overcome their addiction. As mentioned previously, engaging community members, such as parents and former addicts, in preventative drug education is beneficial as they can bring in community resources and real-life experiences to support and nurture recovery.

Most importantly, Korean society needs to take a more proactive role in preventing drug abuse and support individuals who are struggling with addiction through the use of health-promoting language, rather than the promulgation of shaming and stigmatizing narratives.

Ma Kyung-hee (kyungheem@daum.net) is an editor and researcher specializing in mental health. Kim Hyun-jung (khj@drugfree.kr) is the deputy general manager of the Prevention Service Division at the Korean Association Against Drug Abuse. She also works for the Korean Ministry of Education as a drug prevention education specialist.