Germany has a tilidin problem. Experts warn that the pain reliever has now become a teen drug – because the prescription numbers are increasing.
It should calm down, but also euphoria. Taking away fears and giving relaxation. It is effects like these that are currently encouraging young people to take medication they do not need. And rappers like Capital Bra, whose songs are often about drugs like these. We are talking about tilidine – a pain reliever that is currently being used in Germany.
From pain reliever to teen drug
In the past two years, statutory prescriptions for Tilidin in 15 to 20 year olds are believed to have increased thirty-fold. This immense number, recently published by the mdr, is causing concern among addiction experts. The German Press Agency recently spoke to Maurce Cabanis, Senior Consultant at the Clinic for Addiction Medicine and Dependent Behavior at the Stuttgart Clinic. He is currently observing a worrying trend: Painkillers are now "a lifestyle drug that is increasingly being consumed by adolescents and young adults."
Tilidine is a prescription pain reliever that belongs to the group of opioids. It is used, for example, in cancer patients or after operations. In addition to pain, it is also supposed to relieve unpleasant feelings, which in turn explains the high potential for abuse. Young people from difficult family backgrounds in particular have a high potential for abuse, as the Deutsche Apothekerzeitung, among others, currently warns. The pain reliever should not be underestimated – not only can it cause severe side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness and nausea, but it is also highly addictive.
Glorification of Tilidin in the hip-hop scene
In the hip-hop scene in particular, Tilidin is currently said to spread among teenagers – not least because prominent artists speak of their experiences with the drug. Capital Bra recently went public with his drug addiction, the rapper spoke in an interview with ctrl-f about his tilidine withdrawal. The artist felt the downside of the drug himself.
The glorification of the drug in music is dangerous. Because you listen to numerous teenagers who carelessly follow their idols. The consequences are serious: in combination with alcohol or other sedatives, tilidine can, in the worst case, lead to respiratory paralysis and thus even to death.
Sources used: Deutsche Apothekerzeitung, mdr, dpa