Hidden Drug Abuse in Hong Kong: From Social Acquaintance to Social Isolation

Abstract

The present paper examines the issue of hidden drug abuse in Hong Kong. Although official statistics show that the reported number of drug-abuse cases has been in decline in recent years, it has been reported that drug abusers tend to hide themselves at home to take drugs; thus, they are not discovered easily by the law enforcement and social control agents who report drug abuse cases to the Central Registry of Drug Abuse, resulting in the decrease in the reported number of drug-abuse cases. This “dark figure” phenomenon is a reflection of the official figure and reporting behavior, not the actual situation of drug abuse in Hong Kong. Through in-depth interviews of 30 ex-drug addicts, the majority of them started drug taking in early youth, the present paper identifies five stages of drug taking from social acquaintance to social isolation. It argues that although drug taking among abusers is a kind of social activity in their initial stage of drug use, they become socially isolated when their drug use is prolonged. Several reasons are identified, including users' easy accessibility to drugs and changes in the popularity of drugs and use of drug equipment. Most importantly, the hidden process is triggered and aggravated by numerous negative drug effects, such as decline in physical health, weak physical appearance leading to self-perceived discrimination, co-occurrence of psychiatric symptoms of increased anxiety and suspicion, and decline of trust among peers due to prolonged drug abuse. Possible solutions associated with clinical interventions, legislative policies, and law-enforcement operations are proposed.

Difference in long-term relapse rates between youths with ketamine use and those with stimulants use

“…The intensity of the withdrawal symptoms and euphoric effects derived from ketamine may be less than methamphetamine or MDMA, so the users’ craving behaviors toward ketamine may also be less, thus leading to a lower relapse rate. Second, ketamine use likely precedes the use of other illicit substances and the development of addiction to other such substances [37]. Furthermore, adolescents more vulnerable to taking drugs may simply be more likely to start with readily available substances like ketamine, while their subsequent social interactions with others who use drugs may increase their opportunities to try other drugs [11].…”

Intrinsic Motivation and Psychological Connectedness to Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation: The Perspective of Self-Determination

“…Individual factors include low self-control [5], curiosity [6], pursuit of excitement and comfort [6], alleviation of distress [6], poor coping mechanisms with stress [3,7], and a low level of awareness of the negative consequences of drug abuse [6]. Social or environmental factors include the existence of life stress events [7], weak social bonds [3,8], and adverse environmental factors (e.g., bad role models such as negative peer influence and poor family education, low availability of rewarding life choices other than drugs, family relationship with little emotional contact) [2,3,6,9,10,11]. With respect to drug relapse, its reasons include both individual (e.g., low level of self-efficacy, negative perception of events) and social/environmental factors (e.g., existence of additional crises, lack of community support) [9,12,13,14,15].…”

“…Much of the literature about the reasons for drug taking or drug relapse has focused on factors such as self-control [5], poor coping mechanisms [3,7], negative peer pressure [4], psychological responses [11], and lack of awareness of the negative consequences of taking drugs [6,36]. From the perspective of SDT, the drug users’ psychological experience is a crucial factor determining whether they will turn to drugs or quit them.…”

Experience of Drug Abusers Participating in Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Services Provided by the Counselling Centres for Psychotropic Substance Abusers (CCPSAs) in Hong Kong

“…The problem of drug abuse in Hong Kong remains serious, although the total number of reported drug abusers in the official statistics has been declining in the recent four years [2]. What lies beneath the official statistics is the trend of hidden drug abuse and the associated prolonged drug abuse problems [3]. The troublesome use of drugs brings along bio-psycho-social complications.…”