OKANA, the Greek anti-drug organization, has issued a warning about teenagers and their use of hashish, a cannabis product. Youth in Greece consider heroin to be out of fashion and treat its users as outcasts, however they are intrigued by cocaine. The most popular drug, however, is hashish with users as young as 14 years of age trying it because they consider it to be “harmless”.
“We saw a total of 112 teenagers and youth, of which 78 stated that they wanted to participate in a counseling program though only 26 of these people ended up arriving to our facilities,” says psychiatrist Mary Mantsi.
OKANA states that young users come from all socioeconomic levels and their parents are usually surprised about their children’s recreational use of drugs.