The addiction counseling centers in Bavaria are registering an increasing use of addictive substances among young people. On the one hand, more young people are coming to the advice center, and there are also more calls from worried parents as well as inquiries from schools and youth facilities, the Bavarian Addiction Support Coordination Office (KBS) announced on Thursday in Munich.
Young people are susceptible to the effects of addictive substances. They would be at higher risk of long-term mental health disorders, poor school performance, severe substance abuse and higher rates of addiction if they regularly use alcohol, cannabis, nicotine or other drugs at this stage of life.
Bettina Lange from the KBS said that young people’s consumption patterns are very different. They ranged from trial consumption, risky alcohol and drug consumption, misuse of medication to addiction to a wide variety of addictive substances. The consumption of cannabis has “increased in recent years,” said Lange. The need for advice among young people is “very heterogeneous”. During the often critical period of growing up, they needed support with the personal and social consequences of substance use and addictive behavior. “Adolescents with multifactorial problems in particular need intensive counseling that includes consumption,” explained addiction counseling expert Lange.
In Bavaria, however, there is only a comprehensive addiction counseling network for adults. However, round tables have been meeting for some time to develop offers for young consumers. One point of contention, however, is the question of who finances these offers. There are addiction counseling services for young people at 22 locations across Bavaria, but often with very low hourly quotas. They are usually organizationally and conceptually linked to the addiction counseling centers for adults supported by the districts. The addiction associations are calling for youth addiction counseling centers to be created or expanded everywhere in Bavaria at the interface between youth welfare and addiction help.