The city’s Addiction and Drug Coordination indicates an increase in the use of benzodiazepines – often along with alcohol – among young people. Nevertheless, the girl’s case is a “tragic exceptional case”. Daniel Lichtenegger from the Federal Criminal Police Office, however, is alarmed. He advocates simplifying the laws.
A separate task force and a working group have now been set up, says Ewald Lochner, the coordinator for psychiatry, addiction and drug issues for the city of Vienna, to the APA. The task force carries out case analyzes after deaths in connection with drug abuse and draws conclusions for the future; the working group primarily deals with benzodiazepines, i.e. prescription sedatives and sleeping pills.
Problematic development
An increase in the consumption of illegal substances has not been detected, says Lochner. “But since Corona there has been an increasing number of young people who consume such benzodiazepines, sometimes mixed with other substances and sometimes in a very escalatory manner. “Particularly in this area, a problematic development in consumption behavior has been registered among teenagers. “They consume a lot, very quickly and different substances.”
The result? “We are also noticing that an increasing number of young people have been admitted with intoxication in the past.” The Vienna professional rescue service tells the APA that the number of operations for under-18-year-olds with drug intoxication (alcohol and medication excluded) has more than tripled between 2018 and 2023. Six years ago, there were only 75 releases due to drug poisoning, it was said. In 2023, however, the rescue registered 231.
Pre-existing illness
This group of young people often already have previous psychological illnesses, says Lochner. “Child and youth welfare services are also often involved,” said the expert. The reasons for this cannot only be found in the past few years, which were marked by crises. “Young people also have a higher willingness to take risks.”
This is also confirmed by Daniel Lichtenegger, head of the central office for combating drug-related crime in the Federal Criminal Police Office. However, he also points out numerous construction sites. “Nowadays there are YouTube channels that show how best to consume or produce drugs. That can’t be the case, I’m scratching my head,” says the top official.
Problem around “benzos
He is well aware of the problem surrounding “benzos”. “When I see the kind of medication that young people are being prescribed these days, I think it’s very worrying,” said the senior police officer, who also holds the role of drug coordinator at the Home Office. In this context, he also refers to the so-called private recipes – “a big topic”. The police officer emphasizes: “Changes would be necessary here, especially due to the mixed intoxications.” He refers to various legal bases for this type of active ingredient.
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office’s situation report published in August, the number of reports under the Substances Act against young people increased only slightly by 1.8 percent from 2021 to 2022. “However, the number of unreported cases is very high, which is why the pure number of reports should be viewed with caution,” says Lichtenegger. He refers – not without criticism – to around 35,000 reports under the Narcotics Act that were filed across Austria in 2022 and sent to the state authorities. “But only a small fraction were even given a health assessment,” says Lichtenegger. “I want the police to be taken seriously when it comes to drug issues. We’re not puppets.”
Simplification of the drug law
Lichtenegger advocates, among other things, a simplification of the drug law. “We have a number of suggestions, but they are rarely heard,” says the experienced official. These include: Better networking of all players in drug policy and coordinated comparison of databases.
Last Tuesday, a 14-year-old was found dead in an apartment in Vienna-Simmering owned by a 26-year-old Afghan. In January and December, two 16-year-olds were discovered in men’s apartments in Hernals and Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus. In all three cases, drug abuse is involved. The respective toxicological reports are still pending.
