Report: number of pervetin users increases, alcohol abuse remains major problem

The annual report for drug abuse in the Czech Republic for 2013, presented by national anti-drugs coordinator Jindřich Vobořil, has shown that the number of long-term pervetin (methamphetamine) users in the country has increased significantly over the last 10 years. In 2003 there were around 18,800 addicts while last year the number was 34,200. The anti-drugs coordinator stressed that the abuse of legal substances, namely alcohol, remains a major problem, estimating the country had at least 500,000 alcoholics. The head of the National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addiction, Viktor Mravčík, revealed that annually between 30 and 40 people overdose on opiates, pervetin or other illicit drugs, while around 300 people die from alcohol poisoning.

Author: Jan Velinger