After the tragic accident caused last Friday by the actor Pierre Palmade, “I hope we get up to try to move forward on many points”, in particular “the problem of addictions”, declares on BFMTV William Lowenstein, psychiatrist, addict and president of SOS Addictions.
Issues of drug use have been at the center of the news since the car accident caused by the comedian on Friday, who tested positive for cocaine. Three people were seriously injured in the scare, two remain in intensive care, including a six-year-old boy who was left “disfigured”.
“The fact that this drama affects a famous person today can bring the issue into the public arena, make users aware of the risks they run” for themselves and for others, Jean-Michel Delile, a psychiatrist, explains to BFMTV.com and president of the Federation of Addictions.
Cocaine “even in small towns”
This drama recalls the trivialization of cocaine use in recent years in France. This drug was previously, in people’s minds, reserved for show business, but “for several years it has gone far beyond the milieu of high society,” explains Jean-Michel Delile.
“Until a relatively short time ago there were only cocaine shots in the big cities”, but today “you find it in medium-sized towns, even in small towns” and in all circles it abounds on our antenna. Bertrand Lebeau Leibovici, addicted doctorvice president of SOS Addictions.
“For several years now, we have been witnessing a sharp increase in cocaine use in France”, also writes MILDECA (Interministerial Mission for the Fight against Drugs and Addictive Behaviors).
The incidence of drugs is thus observed in traffic accidents, “it is an unfortunately banal phenomenon”, says Romy Collard-Lafond, lawyer for road victims, on BFMTV.
She protests in passing that it takes “a celebrity to be the cause of a dramatic accident for us to be disgusted, outraged by the carnage drugs can cause behind the wheel.” It would be necessary “for the public powers to finally seize this reality, because driving under the influence of drugs is a scourge, as is driving while intoxicated.”
“Prevention, risk reduction”
If the hashtags #CocainePrevention have been launched on social networks by the authorities, there are effectively no large-scale campaigns to warn of the dangers of this drug. “There has always been a reluctance in France to launch campaigns for something that is prohibited,” explains Jean-Michel Delile.
But it is necessary to “take advantage of this matter, which is really a horrible matter” to give “addiction medicine the means to develop”, launches Bertrand Lebeau Leibovici, “that is, prevention, risk reduction”.
As a reminder, cocaine use can cause significant cardiovascular risks but also cognitive impairment. Jean-Michel Delile also mentions the psychological complications “such as paranoid attacks or major anxiety attacks” that are observed among regular users.
Cocaine can also lead to risky behaviors because it increases the user’s self-confidence. If you take the car, for example, it may go much faster than usual or exhibit dangerous aggressive behavior.
“Human tragedies that we must avoid by all means”
Cocaine is “powerfully addictive”, recalls Jean-Michel Delile, and help should be sought from addiction associations and professionals in case of addiction. The psychiatrist emphasizes that in order to get out of addiction it is important to understand why the person has become addicted, otherwise they risk falling back into addiction.
Government spokesman Olivier Véran said on Tuesday that there was no “social” or “political” tolerance for drugs such as cocaine. “Drugs, cocaine, opiates, are extremely dangerous drugs with extremely powerful addictive power and they lead to human tragedies that we must avoid by all means.” He also reiterated the goal of doubling drug driving checks.
“These are objectives that do not date from yesterday. We are increasing the number of controls, because almost one in five deaths linked to a traffic accident is linked to taking drugs. There are 700 deaths a year, two a day, ”he lamented.
Source: BFM TV
