Up to five months waiting time for cocaine addiction treatment

BarcelonaHe's been using cocaine for 20 years, has hit rock bottom, and wants to quit, but can't. His mother, who no longer lives in Catalonia since her retirement, has traveled over 800 kilometers to help him, as this isn't the first time she's tried unsuccessfully to quit. She found him very thin, "practically emaciated," in a house that's falling apart. "He lives in a hovel, he's 47 years old and doesn't work; he doesn't have the strength to do so. He's sleepy all day and has no willpower whatsoever; the drug has consumed him," laments Paula, who doesn't want to give her real name to protect her privacy and that of her son. At the end of October, she contacted the Vilanova i la Geltrú Drug Addiction Treatment Center (CAS) to start treatment, but they haven't been given an appointment until March, and she doesn't know what will become of her son during these five months before he begins detoxification.

"I can't understand it, and it doesn't seem normal to me that a person with this type of addiction has to wait five months. It's an injustice," criticizes his mother. According to the Catalan Federation of Drug Dependencies and Other Addictions (FCD), the waiting lists for CAS, which are specialized centers that provide outpatient treatment to people with addictions, are long. people who request the start of treatment for an addictionThe numbers are growing. "The system is strained and at its limit," says the president of the Federation, Àngels Guiteras, who maintains that people with addictions must wait months to begin detoxification throughout Catalonia, like Paula's son. She has come from Andalusia after her son completely lost consciousness last month. Besides cocaine, he is also addicted to cannabis.And Paula says she "consumes everything in sight," including methamphetamine. That's why she doesn't know what caused her to collapse and insists she must start treatment now. She is 74 years old, receives a meager pension, and is asking for help because the situation is overwhelming her; she no longer knows what to do: "I'm devastated and I'm drawing strength from where I don't have any. I have trouble sleeping, walking, everything. I don't feel like smiling; sadness engulfs me, and all I want is..."

"Risk of fragmentation"

According to the 2024 Annual Report of the Catalan Observatory of Addictions, cocaine is the second most consumed illicit substance and has a significant impact on health: it is the second most common drug for which treatment is initiated, the second leading cause of hospital emergencies, and the drug most frequently found in people who have died from cocaine. For this reason, Guiteras insists that it is necessary to strengthen support for these individuals and, above all, that the support provided should not be solely from a medical perspective: "Addictions are not only a health problem, but also a problem of social cohesion." In fact, the president of the FCD believes there is a "risk of fragmentation" in the care provided to these individuals, especially in Barcelona, ​​with a purely therapeutic approach. "The trend towards hospitalization could affect the care these patients currently receive. We need to look beyond the effects of the substances themselves," argues Guiteras. Next week, the federation will organize a conference to commemorate its 40th anniversary, where the model of care these individuals need and the current challenges in the fight against drug addiction in Catalonia will be discussed.