The head of the NMPD said that every year the service sees an increase in the number of calls related to drug use.
"Last year the number of calls doubled, this year it will definitely reach new records again. Unfortunately, every day we go to four or five calls directly to children and young people up to the age of 19," said Cipule.
The NMPD has also observed that the drug properties "are particularly aggressive". Cipule said, "While we used to use 1-2 ampoules of antidotes on calls, now it can take as many as 10 ampoules for us to bring a person back to life. And the situations are really difficult for young people."
Cipule has observed that there is no system in place to help young people once they have overdosed.
"We have situations where a young person who has been admitted to hospital, is treated and discharged, but the next day we are on call again for the same person, who goes to hospital again under the influence of heavy drugs," said Cipule.
The NMPD chief believes that it is important to start a discussion on how to deal with such cases, because "every year it gets worse, so the current measures are not effective".
"The public, doctors' organizations and policy makers must sit down together and draw up a comprehensive plan of solutions," Cipule added.
Medical professionals have recently been raising the alarm about drug overdoses among young people. According to estimates by the Ministry of Health, substance abuse among young people has doubled in a few years. 27% of 15-16 year olds in Latvia have tried at least one drug.
In a resolution on July 8, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity) tasked the supervising bodies on drug control and children's affairs to convene a joint meeting within two weeks to propose actions to tackle the risks of substance abuse among young people, addressing both the problem and its causes.
Meanwhile, the Latvian Medical Association (LMA), together with OPEN Creative Center, an association working with young people in need, has called on government officials to decriminalize illicit drug use in order to prevent deaths among adolescents and young people. Such a step would open up more opportunities for prevention.
