Malta has a gaping hole in its social services system because it lacks any sort of facility to cater for the “worrying new increase” in drug addicts aged as young as 12 or 13 years, experts have warned.

Experts in the field have identified Malta’s biggest substance abuse problem as being the combination of alcohol and cocaine, with the former very often leading to the latter.

This worrying new trend was highlighted by a number of experts invited yesterday to a conference organised by the Swieqi Local Council entitled ‘Can drugs lead to poverty?’

Social worker Anne Marie Attard, who works in primary and secondary schools, said she was experiencing drug abuse at an increasingly younger age.

“I’m seeing 12- and 13-year-old children who are already dependent on drugs. And there is no institution where they can be taken to be treated.

“It’s useless for us to have sessions with them, only for them to return home to a problematic family background where all our work is undone. We need to get these children out of their homes.

“These children don’t go to school. How could they go to school from 8am to 3pm to study Maths, Maltese and English when drugs have consumed and destroyed their minds?”

The rehabilitation centres run by NGOs such as Caritas only cater for and are geared towards adults.

Caritas social worker Anthony Girard said that substance abuse was very often a family problem and an intergenerational one.

“The problem of drug abuse is one which is passed down through generations. We’ve had cases where you would have a 17-year-old single mother who has a drug problem, whose baby would have already been born a drug addict. The girl’s father would also be a drug user and, sometimes, even her grandfather – he might not have a drug problem but he would be an alcoholic, for instance.”

Mr Girard’s argument was backed by forensic psychologist Janice Formosa Pace, who explained that a substantial body of research showed a thread of continuity of crime running down through two to five generations.

Abroad, one would rarely come across cases where parents would be taken to court together with their children. However in Malta, this was not a rare occurrence.

She spoke about the concept of crime families, whose source of income would be derived from drugs.

Yet the main problem, which was not really tackled in the government’s recent draft positive parenting policy, was how to reach such families, Ms Formosa Pace said. She explained that she worked within learning support zones, helping pupils with social and emotional difficulties. Unlike primary schools, where parents would often drop their children off to school, educators wouldn’t know where such youths were coming from.

“I would have an address but often enough it’s not where the youth is actually living. He could be living with his mother or with his father.

“I would have six different mobile numbers but no one ever answers. Our policies must address this and help us identify the children and their families.”

Inspector Dennis Theuma has investigated over 600 teenagers in his 11-year career in the drug squad.

“I’ve had teenagers from good, solid backgrounds who ended up abusing drugs but, as a general rule, many had parents who failed to imprint them with values.

“We’ve investigated private parties where we would arrest a couple in their 50s who would be abusing drugs and whose teen son would also be taking cocaine at the same party.”

According to Mr Girard, alienation was the key word. Youths were no longer purely socialising in places of entertainment but would often lounge in a garage, smoking marijuana and playing video games.

Annabel Farrugia Zerafa from Aġenzija Sedqa urged local councils such as Swieqi’s to provide alternative activities for youths such as dancing, drama and sports, which would keep them for turning to places of entertainment such as Paceville.

Examination stress was highlighted as one of the issues tipping students into alcohol and drug abuse, with many stressing the need for a re-evaluation of the educational system.

Words of 28-year-old former drug victim...

I had a good childhood but I always believed that to be cool, I had to hang out with the loutish bunch. I used alcohol at a young age – my self-esteem soared. We were always inventing new excuses to drink – birthday celebrations, Milan winning a game, New Year and so on.

Aged 14 while in Paceville, my group of five friends decided to try ecstasy. I was a follower and weak so I went along.

After three years of abusing ecstasy, a friend suggested cocaine. At first, it was the best feeling ever – it filled the void within me. The amount slowly increased. At the age of 20, I had a son – I thought this would stop me but it made me worse: I couldn’t handle the extra responsibility. I was spending €150 a day on cocaine. I took up gambling to get more money and ended up with two problems instead of one.

Aged 20 I went into rehab to shut my parents up but my heart wasn’t in it. I didn’t feel I was an addict – to my mind, addicts were heroin users strewn across the floor.

Aged 24, I realised that my sole reason for living had become cocaine and so I re-entered rehab. Caritas helped me appreciate the smallest things and taught me to take a stand.

Thankfully I have been clean for four years and I’m always vigilant not to repeat past mistakes.