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Drugs, which have been mainly seen in crime movies, are now rapidly entering our lives.

In particular, recently, as many transactions are made through the Internet or SNS, the number of teenagers and 20s who are involved in drugs is increasing.



Reporter Kim Hee-nam covered the situation.



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Junsang, who lives in Incheon, first tried drugs at the age of 19.



[Lee Jun-sang (pseudonym, drug use since 19 years old): I woke up after 2 nights and 3 days because I took too much medicine, but here, my collarbone was broken and I took medicine as soon as I woke up.]



One pill that started out of curiosity,



[Lee Jun-sang ( A pseudonym, drug use since age 19): Beer is 20,000 won.

But pills are also the cause of 20,000.

'Which of the two would you like to eat?' is recommended by a friend, but in less than three months, I have already gone to methamphetamine.]



Junsang's life changed in an instant.



[Lee Jun-sang (pseudonym, drug use since 19): I couldn't serve in the military.

He had dropped to an IQ of 50, and the hospital told him to apply for a disability.

Because he gave a certificate of disability.]



In fact, a drug treatment hospital investigated the cognitive function of addicts.



The average adult IQ is 90-110, and drug addicts are much lower.



[Chun Young-hoon / Director of Incheon Chamsarang Hospital: Most (addiction) patients are in their 70s and 80s, and the frontal lobe itself is damaged, so the ability to control one's behavior or predict the consequences of one's behavior is significantly reduced.]



Seriously, Mr. Junsang The so-called 'young addiction', which comes into contact with drugs in their teens and twenties, is increasing rapidly.



According to the Supreme Prosecutor's Office's White Paper on Drug Crimes, the number of drug offenders in teens increased more than three times in just three years, and the number of drug offenders in their 20s also increased 2.4 times during the same period.



When it comes to drugs, the proportion of people in their 40s by age has also changed to those in their 20s.



How could the number of teenagers and 20s who are addicted to drugs have exploded like this?



[Lee Jun-sang (pseudonym, drug use since 19 years old): Since they sell things on the internet as if they were selling something, there are a lot of slang like this.]



Teens and 20s who are familiar with the internet buy drugs overseas and use SNS messengers. It's easy to trade through a secret chat app.



A method of evading tracking by using cryptocurrency as a payment method has also emerged.



[Choi In-seok (pseudonym, drug use from the age of 21): Putting money in a virtual currency wallet and paying with it.]



[Chun Young-hoon/Director of Incheon Chamsarang Hospital: Will my child take drugs?

Now is the time to let go of the idea that drug addiction is someone else's problem and that it's a problem for a particular group.]



It seems urgent to prepare an educational promotion system such as a sex education program for teenagers, and further support and expand addiction treatment and rehabilitation facilities.



(Video coverage: Yoo Dong-hyuk, Hong Jong-soo)