Curated 8

In Croatia and Serbia, drug-related incarceration silently punishes thousands of children alongside their imprisoned parents. It is worth highlighting how parental imprisonment shapes children’s mental health, economic stability, and social inclusion, comparing policy responses across both countries.

Young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are reshaping drug policy discourse by challenging criminalisation frameworks, promoting public health narratives, and engaging peers through activism and participatory research, serving as long-term catalysts for more humane and inclusive policy reform.

An analysis of five Serbian tabloid articles on youth and drugs identifies a sustained pattern of sensationalist framing, stigmatising language, and absent public health context, offering key recommendations for more responsible reporting.

Youth drug use in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia should be examined in view of social, family, and psychological factors behind addiction. Based on statistics, scholarly research findings, and an interview to a highschooler, we call for empathy, understanding, and stronger support systems for vulnerable teenagers.

Three common myths about drug use among teenagers in Bosnia and Herzegovina — ‘everyone uses drugs’, ‘occasional use is harmless’, and ‘addiction is easily controlled’— are examined by drawing on semi-structured interviews and secondary research to challenge each misconception, with insights on the role of peer influence and misinformation.