Youth with drug addiction vulnerable to radicalization
(Like the Fire Triangle Model – you take out one element of the three, and the fire goes out! Take the drug use element and you significantly reduce the other two)
Young people and teenagers are the most vulnerable group for radical influences due to the fact that they are the most energetic and dynamic social group prone to social protest and high-risk behaviors. Another risk factor for young people to become involved in extreme activities is drug addiction.
Extremism and drug addiction have common ground. Being global in nature, both phenomena have destructive character and serious consequences for humanity. Violent crimes are often carried out by aggressors being drunk or under the influence of psychoactive substances
Extremist organizations are often funded by financial resources obtained from drug trafficking. A 2016 report commissioned by the European Union associated Al-Shabaab with heroin trafficking, transporting it from ports in areas it controls to Europe and also cocaine trafficking into Kenya.
A report by the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) has shown that children as young as four are using alcohol and other substances. The report blames the exposure of children to drugs to poor parenting; saying children whose parents or guardians consume drugs or alcohol are more likely to become users themselves. For complete article go toYouth with drug addiction vulnerable to radicalization – Epuka Ugaidi