3 in 4 Korean drug users start in teens, 20s: report

More than 3 out of 4 people who use illegal drugs in South Korea began using drugs in their teens or 20s, mostly due to peer influence, according to recent research.

A research team from the Catholic University of Korea conducted in-depth interviews with 29 drug users between Feb. 25 and March 28. The participants were selected from addiction treatment centers, correctional facilities, the Korean Association Against Drug Abuse and medical institutions.

The study — commissioned by the National Center for Mental Health, an agency under the Ministry of Health and Welfare — examined demographic data, causes and severity of addiction, as well as rates of depression and anxiety.

Some 58 percent of respondents said they first used drugs in their 20s, while 17.2 percent said their first drug experience occurred in their teens, meaning more than 75 percent of drug users first encountered drugs before the age of 30. Another 10.3 percent answered that they first used drugs in their 30s.

The most common reasons for starting drug use were encouragement or suggestions from others at 75.9 percent, followed by curiosity, managing unpleasant emotions and relieving stress.

According to the research team, about 70 percent said they purchased drugs from friends or other acquaintances. Only 10.3 percent stated that they bought drugs from other online channels.

Peer influence played a key role in continued drug use, with 57.9 percent of users saying they used drugs a second time due to the influence of people they knew.

More than two-thirds obtained drugs through acquaintances as well, suggesting that the influence of the people around users played a significant role in both initial drug use and repeated use.

In the same survey, 31 percent of respondents who used drugs said they were not addicts. The belief that they were able to control their drug use or that they had only used drugs for a short time were the main reasons they did not consider themselves to be addicted.

The prevalence of depression among respondents was 44.8 percent, which is about seven times higher than the rate in the general population of 6.7 percent.

The report added that anxiety symptoms were present in 31.1 percent of the subjects interviewed — approximately four times higher than the average in the general population.

The level of impairment in daily functioning among individuals living with drug addiction was around twice as high as in the general population.

“It was found that the influence of acquaintances was crucial in both initial and repeated drug use. More than 70 percent of the respondents took their second dose within one month of their first use, indicating a strong pattern of repeated use in a short period of time,” the research team said in the report. “But approximately one-third of respondents reported that it took over a year to initiate drug addiction treatment.”

The research team suggested that this long gap between initial drug use and treatment could lead to a higher risk of repeated drug use.