Juveniles in the drug market

Uloga maloljetnika na tržištu droga zasigurno je fenomen koji zaslužuje puno veću pozornost znanstvenika koji se bave istraživanjem strukture i dinamike tržišta droga, ali i problematikom suzbijanja zlouporabe droga budući da njihovo sudjelovanje na tržištu droga u znatnome dijelu doprinosi razvoju i dinamici tržišta, ali predstavlja i značajan sociopatološki problem. Vrijeme adolescencije smatra se razdobljem intenzivnijeg upuštanja u rizična ponašanja - što u konačnici može rezultirati i dugoročnim neželjenim posljedicama. Istraživanja koja se bave tržištem droga uglavnom su epidemiološkog karaktera te je malo studija koje u središte pozornosti stavljaju maloljetnike kao aktivne sudionike ovakva tržišta. Cilj je rada dati odgovor na pitanje koja je uloga i način sudjelovanja maloljetnika na tržištu droga a sa svrhom osmišljavanja preventivnih aktivnosti. Rezultati analize znanstvene i stručne literature ukazuju na sve veću konzumaciju novih psihoaktivnih tvari među maloljetnicima te značajnu ulogu koju maloljetnici imaju na tržištu droga u okvirima preprodaje droga na virtualnim, online, tržištima. Otvara se i pitanje učinkovitosti politika suzbijanja zlouporabe droga u odnosu na djecu i mlade kao i pitanje učinkovitosti preventivnih programa i intervencija namijenjenih ovoj skupini.The role of juveniles in the drug market is certainly a phenomenon that deserves much more attention of scientists who study the structure and dynamics of the drug market, since their participation in the drug market significantly contributes to market development and dynamics and becomes a great sociopathological problem. Adolescence is considered a period of more intense engagement in risky behaviors, which can ultimately result in long-term side effects. The main focus of this scientific research on the drug market is on the prevalence of drug use among children and juveniles, but there are only a few studies that focus on children and young people as active participants in this market. The aim of this paper is to investigate the role and ways of participation of young people in the drug market in order to design preventive activities at different levels and taking into account the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to this issue. The results of the analysis of scientific and professional literature indicate the increasing consumption of new psychoactive substances among juveniles and the significant role that they have in the drug market in the context of drug traffickingin virtual/online markets. The question of the effectiveness of policies to combat drug abuse in relation to children and youth is also raised, as well as the question of the effectiveness of prevention programs and interventions intended for this group