The Maltese general public’s perception on illicit drugs and over-the-counter medicine

Abstract

Illicit drugs were always a huge concern to societies, people manage to get addicted so easily to the drugs and the people who manage to sell the drug will surely enjoy the easy money income and therefore there will always be drugs available in the markets and people who sell them. Illicit drugs on the other hand are far more controlled than illicit drugs since the only way to obtain these drugs is through pharmacies. However, there are still medicines which can become addictive and be misused by the user. The Maltese society was targeted for this research, to obtain their perception through an online survey regarding both subjects, illicit drugs and over-the-counter medicine. The themes identified through this research were the knowledge on illicit drugs of the Maltese people, villages where the people think there is the biggest drug problem, the common age group that tends to become addicted to illicit substances, court orders and sentences regarding the subject and the opinion on addiction if over-the-counter medicine can become addictive. This study clearly showed, from the opinions gathered that the society is being more open minded regarding these subjects and is aiming to help those in need with avoiding incarceration.