The Current Substance Abuse Trends in Russia and the West

This paper selects and analyzes the key trends of current substance abuse that are most widespread in western European countries, the USA, Canada, and Russia, while also reviewing their differences and similarities. Foreign case studies, along with the results of analyzing the most prominent trends of substance abuse, must be accounted for when designing the optimal and most efficient measures for impacting the current drug abuse situation and eliminating its negative consequences. This paper examines the motivations and factors that encourage substance abuse; the phenomenon of substance abuse normalization; and the problems with identifying modern drug addicts that may arise as they try to adapt their behavior. The paper is based on a secondary analysis of several surveys among the working-age population (2013, 2016, 2017), as well as a college youth survey, entitled “The Student Lifestyle: Behavior Risks” (Ivanovo, Krasnodar, Moscow, Rybinsk, Chita, Yaroslavl). All of the above studies were conducted by the deviant behavior sociology sector of the RAS Federal Sociology Research Center. In addition, we considered surveys of college students in the USA and students in higher education in Canada.The analysis shows that: the age of first drug use is shifting upwards, which signifies that people are consciously deciding to consume addictive substances as mature individuals; there is an emerging trend of people aged 50 and over being introduced to addictive substances; the most popular motivation for consuming such substances is hedonism, i.e. the desire for pleasure; the attitude towards substance abuse is growing more and more tolerant, as introduction to recreational psychoactive drugs is becoming a fact of life and drug use is being integrated into society; modern substance abuse patterns still remain largely latent. We also consider foreign researchers’ insights, which warrant attention as we analyze the situation regarding substance abuse in Russian society and work on an effective anti-drug and addiction prevention policy.