Abuse of Psychoactive Pharmaceuticals in Greece: Relevance of Disseminating Epidemiological and Clinical Research Findings to Postgraduate Medical Students

Abstract

In Greece, due to overconsumption of psychoactive pharmaceuticals either under medical supervision or illicitly, there is a growing need to reform the medical curricula, at both the undergraduate and the postgraduate level, and include as a priority subject the proper prescribing of psychoactive substances in order to limit negative consequences, particularly among the young, resulting from their improper and prolonged use. Further support of this need is provided by cross-sectional data presented in this paper deriving from two nationwide surveys, one on a student population ages 14-18 and the other on dependent individuals seeking treatment. Strong correlations were found between prescribed use of pharmaceuticals and both unprescribed and illicit drug use. The findings support the assumption that abuse of psychoactive drugs represents a masked phenomenon of dependency, sharing with illicit drug use common underlying factors such as psychological/behavioral problems and psychiatric comorbidity. All medical specialists, pediatricians and psychiatrists in particular need to be informed of the high risk of abuse of psychoactive pharmaceuticals and of the psychological factors underlying their use in order to modify their treatment approaches and prescribing practices.