Parents have been told to monitor the behavior patterns of their adolescent children to prevent them from falling into drug abuse patterns.
The Ministry of Health conveyed this message when it observed the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Sunday. This year’s theme conveyed a message of hope. This is that drug use disorders are preventable and treatable.
The UN General Assembly decided to observe June 26 as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking as an expression of its determination to strengthen action and cooperation to achieve the goal of an international society free of drug abuse.
This resolution recommended further action with regard to the report and conclusions of the 1987 international conference on drug abuse and illicit trafficking.
An official from the National Center for Media and Health Promotion at the Ministry of Health said parents have a greater role to play in the prevention of drug abuse.
“They should keep track of their children’s movements and they also should know who their children’s friends are,” he said, pointing out that most of the bad habits learned by children are from their friends.
The Ministry of Health has 22 hospitals for mental health and hope complexes scattered across the Kingdom’s regions and governorates and 100 more clinics are available for mental health in general hospitals and specialized facilities. He explained that there are different types of drugs depending on how they are classified. Some of them are classified as per their impact, while others are defined in terms of production or color, in addition to another classification that is based on addiction, whether it is physical or psychological.
Accordingly, there are many types of drugs varying in degrees of effect on the nervous system. They include hashish and marijuana, antipsychotic drugs, stimulant drugs such as cocaine, hallucinogens, such as LSD, inhalants, such as glue, and medical painkillers and sedatives, such as morphine.
Drug abuse has become one of the most critical problems afflicting countries worldwide.
Due to the major impact of drug abuse on the health, social, economic and security domains, all countries have diligently sought to fight such a problem, which has no longer been confined to a definite type of drug, nor has it been related to a certain country or social segment. In addition, new and numerous compounds have appeared to have obviously bad effects on the brain and the nervous system.
Addiction is the result of continuously and heavily using narcotic substances.
After the body develops drug tolerance, it craves for more doses of such drugs to achieve the same effects previously experienced.
With such constantly increasing doses in a short period, both body and mind become so affected that the addict is no longer able to perform his daily duties without such drugs.
If an addict attempts to stop drug abuse, many dangerous physical and psychological symptoms will instantly appear. In such a case, the addict suffers from what is called “withdrawal symptoms,” which may lead either to his death or to continuing addiction to alcohol, drugs, psychotropic drugs or sedative-hypnotics drugs.
Signs of addiction include a sudden change in lifestyle and frequent absence from work or school, significant downgrade in school and deterioration of performance at work, absence from home for long periods, especially at night, secretiveness, extreme mood changes, weight loss or gain, changes in social groups, new and unusual friends, a tendency to want to be alone, spending money impulsively and constantly demanding more, becoming angry over trivial reasons and shunning responsibility.
Side effects of drug addiction include change in personality, low job performance, loss of judgment, injury to the immune system, such as the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, viral diseases, such as chronic viral hepatitis, and hormonal disorders, such as infertility and its impact on the process of fertilization.
Reasons for addiction include lack of awareness regarding the dangers of drug abuse, poor religious commitment and inappropriate social upbringing, broken homes, poverty, ignorance and illiteracy, extraordinary wealth, parental negligence toward children, lack of dialogue among family members, bad companionship and unemployment.
Parents told to monitor children for drug abuse
Parents told to monitor children for drug abuse
Minzal brings Saudi traditions to life in Diriyah
- From leather crafts and archery to Saudi coffee, Minzal offers a lesson in ‘Sloum Al-Arab’
RIYADH: This season of Minzal places social norms and traditional etiquette at its center, with tents set up to teach what is locally known as “Sloum Al-Arab” alongside gatherings for coffee, dinner and stargazing around campfires.
“Sloum Al-Arab” refers to the unwritten customers and values that have shaped Arab and Bedouin society for centuries, including generosity, coffee preparation, courage and archery.
In Saudi Arabia, these traditions are closely ties to cultural identity and religious belief.
Leather products and the making of leather goods is one of the crafts featured at Minzal this year and is one of the oldest crafts still practiced in the kingdom.
“The most difficult thing I faced to work on was camel leather because it is a little tough,” Nada Samman, a leather trainer and craftsman at Minzal, told Arab News.
“The work on leather is wonderful whether it is goat leather, cow leather, Sawakni sheep, and of course, camel leather. At Minzal, we are offering multiple handicraft workshops, most specifically the leather handicrafts. We want visitors to spend time at something useful and fun."
Samman explained the workshops allowed participants to preserve heritage while engaging in meaning, hands on activities.
Faisal Al-Khaled, a visual artist and craftsman specializing in Saudi designs at Minzal, shared a similar goal: “I want people to have, by the end of this experience, a unique and traditional art piece created by them, and that I know I helped them to preserve this craft.”
Minzal, which has been organized for several years now, continues to evolve with each season, offering activities that highlight Bedouin values, traditional skills and sports. Archery is a key feature, reflecting its deep roots in Arab and Islamic history.
Mohammed Al-Sharif, a certified archery player and coach with the Saudi Archery Federation since 2028, said the sport was closely connected to Saudi culture. It was encouraged by the Prophet Muhammad, which led people to learn and teach it through generations.
“Our traditional bow is considered one of the most important and widely used bows in Arab culture,” Al-Sharif said. “We have several styles, and professional archers specializing in traditional bow shooting … There are various types of archery, such as horseback archery and standing archery, where bow sizes vary according to specific needs, such as types used for hunting and others used during warfare.”
He explained that archery was historically part of daily life, used for protection and hunting.
Saudi coffee also plays a significant role in the Minzal experience, with live demonstrations. One of the most frequently consumed beverages in the Kingdom, it is a symbol of hospitality and generosity.
Ahmed Al-Shuaibi explained how it was prepared at the Sloum tent, first by roasting the beans and then allowing them to cool. The beans are ground with spices in a Nigr.
“Coffee is passed from our grandparents,” he added. “In significant majlis, you see them offering our local coffee and not other types of coffee. We organized this corner so that young generations can visit and learn this.”
