Psychologist details rise in teen drug use
Teen drug dependence is a major problem, requiring parents to recognize risks and act.
The number of adolescents using drugs is growing in Sverdlovsk Oblast (Urals, Russia). Official statistics confirm this, and the risk group is far wider than children from disadvantaged families — addiction can touch virtually anyone.
Psychologist Elena Tevs has worked for several years at a rehabilitation center for people with drug and alcohol addictions. She says dependence is ensnaring even the smartest and most athletic kids. In this piece, the specialist lists the factors driving the rise in drug use and explains what parents should watch for so they do not lose their child.
How many adolescent drug users are in the region
E1.RU was told by the Sverdlovskaya oblastnaya narkologicheskaya bolnitsa (Sverdlovsk Regional Narcological Hospital) that the number of addicted adolescents is rising in the region. Doctors distinguish two phenomena: addiction and harmful drug use — this is important for understanding the statistics. Addiction means dependence has formed; with harmful use there are physical and psychological consequences, but consumption is episodic.
«In Sverdlovsk Oblast, over the past five years the number of minors with substance-related addictive disorders registered by the addiction service has been unstable but trending upward and since 2020 has increased by 8.8%,» the narcological hospital said.
In total, in 2020, 113 adolescents were on record with doctors (24 with addiction and 89 with harmful drug use); in 2021 — 141 adolescents (33 and 108); in 2022 — 130 adolescents (53 and 77). In 2023, 126 minors were registered (60 and 66); in 2024 there was a decline: 117 people (47 and 70).
At the same time, as of 1 September this year, 123 adolescents had already been registered with doctors (51 with addiction and 72 with harmful use). And although the total number of registered cases in five years has not risen sharply, the number with dependence has doubled.
In the first eight months, 123 adolescents were registered with Sverdlovsk addiction services.
Elena Tevs believes official statistics are only a guide, since many young people never come to the attention of psychiatrist–addiction specialists.
«I think the statistics can be multiplied by ten. Every child has co‑users, and this often passes outside official channels,» the psychologist said.
Why more adolescents are using drugs
«I understood there was a problem, but when I started working in 2022, I was stunned by how massive it had become,» said Elena Tevs.
The psychologist highlighted several factors that have driven the rise in adolescent drug use.
Buying substances has become easier
«If in the past you needed special contacts to acquire substances, now you just need a phone. There are strange inscriptions and drawings on city walls — diamonds, for example. For someone in the know, that’s a beacon, and they know what to do,» the expert explained.
Children are recruited as zakladchiki
Ambiguous job offers are sent to children on social networks. In addition, people approach them in person, near schools. School students told Elena about this when she gave lectures on drug addiction. On first mention: a zakladchik is a stash dropper who hides packages for buyers to pick up.
«To this day, people approach adolescents — even in very good schools — and directly invite them to become zakladchiki. These people look respectable and speak well. They start from afar, then press on the teenager’s sore spots: “You’re so sharp — only you can handle such a responsible task. You just need to deliver small packets, and you’ll be able to buy anything you want. No one will suspect you.” And that’s true. Sometimes you walk into a rehab center and it’s as if you’ve stepped into an elite gymnasium class,» the psychologist shared.
Social and environmental factors
Elena Tevs believes you cannot ignore events happening around us. For example, during the COVID pandemic adolescents had a lot of time and freedom because schooling was remote — they were bored. As soon as they were allowed to go out, they began gathering in groups.
«The pandemic period was frightening — an epidemic of addictions broke out. Many adults lost their jobs, were in despair, switched to survival mode. Children of such parents were, in many ways, left to themselves,» the specialist noted.
Elena Tevs says teens receive recruitment offers near schools and through social networks.
Erosion of cultural norms
The psychologist believes drug use is romanticized in some songs, films, and series, and this also affects adolescents’ still‑forming minds.
«Kids listen to music in which every other word encodes substance use. My charges at the rehabilitation center told me about this. Like: do you know that this song is about such‑and‑such substances and states? And what I hear there sounds like entirely everyday vocabulary,» said Elena Tevs.
Some adolescents who ended up in rehab also said the cryptic inscriptions on walls influenced their choice.
Why children become zakladchiki and drug users
Many begin distributing and using drugs as early as ages 12–13.
At the words “adolescent drug user,” many likely picture a marginalized youth who fights, commits crimes, skips school, and comes from the most troubled family. Unfortunately, practice shows that even the smartest and neatest children can become dependent.
«Our charges study at good schools, they have packed schedules. Some did professional sports, music, and earned top grades before they started using. As a rule, they first get into distribution and then — into use. Often it’s vulnerable kids who take this on — those who want to prove themselves but lack authority among peers. And here he’s so cool, mysterious, distributing some substances,» the psychologist explained.
Adolescents tell the rehabilitation center they felt grown‑up when they became zakladchiki. They gained status among peers and money — but all of this is a false and very short‑lived success, beyond which lies a chasm.
Elena Tevs advises parents to pay attention to adolescents’ pocket spending: they should not have too much money, so there is no temptation. This is one of the factors that can lead a child to use.
Warning signs of drug use
The psychologist singled out key warning signs that should alert parents. These signs by themselves do not mean your child is definitely using something, but they are a reason to observe behavior and have a heart‑to‑heart talk.
Your child’s grades have dropped;
teachers complain of behavioral changes;
wears sunglasses even on overcast days;
has become abrasive;
changed friends; his group seems oddly dull and withdrawn;
refuses to attend activities and has dropped hobbies;
new expensive items appear with unclear origin: may say friends lent them;
personal items or household objects vanish, your money goes missing;
you learn the teen has taken out a microloan;
was withdrawn, and suddenly there’s a mysterious crowd he tells parents little about;
clothes have developed a strange, sharp odor;
the child has lost weight and often refuses food;
unexplained skin rashes appear.
Note: some overdose symptoms (fever, vomiting) look very similar to rotavirus. If confusion is present and the child is not making sense, the psychologist advises seeking medical help urgently or calling an ambulance.
New dangerous drugs
Vulnerable adolescents seek status and acceptance, increasing risks of dealing and consumption.
The psychologist said that during her work at the rehab center she learned about a new type of drugs called designer.
«Kids say that after using them there is a strong, unpleasant smell like cat urine. Pets at home often react to this smell. Girls start using strong perfume to mask it,» explained Elena Tevs.
Adolescents told her they could use this drug even the day before going to the police, and tests most often showed nothing.
«Parents say: we did tests and found nothing. But, as I gathered from my charges’ stories, laboratories can very rarely catch anything because the drug’s formula keeps changing. This is very dangerous and can quickly end in death. Adolescents cannot tell one substance from another, they get confused and die of overdoses,» the expert said.
Parents bury their heads in the sand like ostriches
Some parents waste a lot of time while they deny their child’s dependence. The psychologist said she is often asked to talk to a teenager and explain that nothing should be used.
«Such parents say: “My child is dabbling with substances. He promised us he wouldn’t do this. Tell him it’s bad.” When you start asking what they mean by “dabbling,” the time frames they name often make my blood run cold: a year, a year and a half.»
At the same time, parents notice suspicious behavior: they say the child periodically doesn’t sleep at home; they found strange little bags, straws, empty blister packs — but since there is no smell, everything must be fine.
«Parents often bury their heads in the sand like ostriches. They understand everything, yet say: “I behaved even worse in my youth; we actually just need to get a diploma. Maybe you’ll talk to him and he’ll stop?” That’s impossible! Dependence takes over the personality — the person becomes deceitful, learns to manipulate and pressure,» Elena Tevs explained.
The psychologist noted that people with dependence can stop using for a while so parents calm down, but they still relapse. In 5 out of 10 cases, adults return with such children in three to four months and are ready to take them to rehab, because the situation becomes impossible to control.
«In the rest of the cases this happens later, and the child crashes into dependence one‑on‑one. But there are three outcomes: the cemetery, the hospital, or prison. Therefore, the earlier parents engage with the problem, the better for everyone,» the specialist concluded.
Read the story of a school student from Yekaterinburg who became an alcoholic at 16. He told us about his addiction and treatment on condition of anonymity after nine months of treatment in a rehabilitation center. We also wrote about a ‘secret’ rehabilitation center located in a remote village in Kurgan Oblast — there is just one house and a church there.
Earlier we published an interview with the head of the Natsionalnyy antinarkoticheskiy soyuz (National Anti‑Drug Union). He explained how the “heroin boom” spread from Yekaterinburg and why drug addiction today is scarier than 20 years ago. We also examined how young people get hooked on mephedrone and how it ends.
