Dr. Alejandro Mestre Barroso, a specialist in Toxicology at the Doctor Ernesto Guevara de la Serna General Teaching Hospital, assured 26 that only five percent of the young people who use drugs in Las Tunas today come to the consultations to be treated as patients.

And, if the data does not seem chilling enough, the expert adds: “We are living in the moment of highest consumption here in the last 20 years, which is approximately the time that there have been more reliable statistics on this subject.”

With his words, as blunt as the problems he addresses, he says categorically: “In other words, we have a very important increase in drug consumption, it is evident in all the municipalities of the province, and from very early ages.”

Having said this, he sits down and waits; He senses that we need a few minutes to process the seriousness of the matter and to string together the questions that, seasoned with anecdotes of all kinds, are giving direction to our conversation.

“Las Tunas has the peculiarity that most of the boys are starting at 10 or 11 years of age, it is the trend that we see in consultations today, and generally, through cigarettes. That is the gateway.

“From there they go to marijuana, which the people from Las Tunas have 70 percent crushed dried anoncillo leaves, 10 or 15 percent dried clarín, and only the rest is marijuana. Therefore, the active ingredient that causes the sought stimulus is low."

“Of course, the first time, the same euphoria that you have for doing it, and more so if it is in a group, causes a state of intoxication and even hallucinations; But when you start to be exposed to it frequently, you develop a tolerance very quickly and generally migrate to medications."

“The most common is carbamazepine, mixed with alcohol, or tramadol, benadriline and gravinol. From there, you get to the well-known synthetic cannabinoids.”

He pauses and we explain that we know something about that. Cannabinoids were introduced in Cuba starting in 2011, first with the name La bailarine and then with versions called Ambrosio, Cielo azul, Bella durmiente, El diablo rojo, Sálvame si puedes, Cenicienta…, until, for a purely commercial reason, those names were standardized as "el químico" (chemical).

We know that each batch is enriched with a more active pharmacological capacity; therefore, the damage and the stimulus to the central nervous system is greater and, with it, the addiction it causes.

The doctor nods, listens, and adds: “It is a drug that can exacerbate negative feelings in human beings. We are talking about lying, deceit, theft. Violence occurs in acute cases, but they become expert manipulators."

“It is a product that accelerates pathological processes from a psychiatric point of view; that is, these are patients who begin to suffer from depression, almost all of whom end up with schizophrenia, paranoia, and even more so if they have a family history."

“They are the ones you find in broad daylight without a sweater and in shorts, with tremendous noise in the neighborhood; or the teenagers who arrive at the Emergency Room at 2:30 am with stab wounds; or the girls who take off their clothes in the middle of a polyclinic. In other words, all with dissociative behaviors that, on many occasions, respond to a period of acute consumption.”

The doctor believes that, for too long, it has been a taboo to recognize on a social scale the reality that concerns us in this universe; and that, together with the weaknesses in the preventive work that we have suffered in the stage of COVID-19, for example, “has made us lose valuable hours and too many battles.”

However, he does not give up. “With drugs of abuse, like this, the key is not to start, because only 10 percent of addicts can get rid of them and, in most cases, with irreversible damage.”

The symptoms, he says, closely resemble those of marijuana. “The territories of Las Tunas and Puerto Padre have the highest rates of consumption; it is also noticeable in some places in Majibacoa, especially due to the proximity to Holguín, to the Central Highway. But, as we already said, all eight municipalities report situations."

“Of course, in Cuba, the mechanisms are created to care for these patients and help them; the challenge lies in the fact that they are not always working properly.
“We have to ensure that each doctor knows what is being consumed and how to detect it. For this, we hold preparation workshops; we have already held them at the Clodomira Acosta psychiatric hospital, the Mártires de Las Tunas pediatric hospital, and polyclinics such as the Gustavo Aldereguía in this city."

“Likewise, in the Guillermo Domínguez hospitals, in Puerto Padre, and the ‘Guevara’; in addition, in the University of Medical Sciences and the Las Tunas branch of the Wholesale Marketing and Distribution of Medicines (EMCOMED)."

He also insists on preventive work with Education, in the different teachings, and the media; but the family continues to be the vital space, the first school, the genesis of any transformation (for better or worse) of the phenomenon, and the most relevant link.

Mestre Barroso knows this and insists that when parents take care of their children thoroughly, they notice the signs first; and, in these cases, those who come to the consultation, are often afraid that their children will be denounced, but they take them by the hand and seek help together.

“That is very important. We are health centers, we are here to heal, not to make complaints unless the patient incurs bloody acts or very violent matters. But it is not the regularity of those who come, nor our intention."

“The fear of the legal framework is causing harm; sometimes, the parents come first to the consultations and they examine you, ask, stand in a corner, tell you that they want to talk about an acquaintance from another province or a distant cousin, and only when they feel confident, do they bring their children."

“They can go to the family doctor's office, that is where the characterization from the clinical point of view of the patient is and where they get to know each other; that is always a strength."

“The polyclinics have an area dedicated to addiction, where there are specialists in Psychiatry who can help the affected person; in addition, at the ‘Mártires de Las Tunas’ we have the Mental Health consultation. And in the ‘Clodomira Acosta’ we have the one that is specifically dedicated to the withdrawal of all types of drugs, specialized in alcoholism, but that is assuming this growing number of consumption, together with the Toxicology consultation of the ‘Guevara’."

“In the province, in the same way, the call to 103 works, to ask for telephone help; something that was very popular some time ago and that, although it is used less, remains active.”

What possibilities does an addict have of being cured?

“Once a patient is addicted, he can be weaned, but he will never stop being addicted. In other words, you are an addict for life, and you have time for the consumption pattern to increase and present a relapse. This is associated with periods of stress, distance, and a series of factors."

“When the withdrawal syndrome begins, the person walks back to the places where he used to consume, and buy, dreams that he is smoking, and falls. Of course, there are helpful techniques to avoid this but you have to have the will, first of all, and count on those who help you to leave the environment."

“Right now we have several teenagers in consultation from the Francisco Muñoz Rubalcava pre-university (the one next to the 12th Floor Building), a center with a very high incidence; and from the Carlos Baliño basic secondary school, the Polytechnic of Economics, and we know that in the IT department, they sell to the rest of the places. We want to make a call for knowledge and extreme attention to this problem.”

The anecdotes that the doctor treasures are cruel; he tells us about them. That is why we know about the good and intelligent boy that the family found, upon waking up one morning, in the pig pen, reading verses from the Bible to the animal; about the other who fell exhausted, in the middle of the street, and has no idea who or how they took him to the health institution; Or the young girl who went to a party and woke up at home, but had marks on her skin that indicated she had had intimate relations with someone. She asked for help because her body said so, but she could not remember anything, absolutely nothing else.

Drug abuse is a serious scourge that should not be looked away from. Listening to the doctor confirmed to us that only if we confront it head-on, with transparency and mastery of the subject, we will be able to stop its effects. The drug is there, and the consumers are too; the goal is to stop them from growing.