President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), Prof. Sevil Atasoy, stated, “Governments should allocate sufficient resources to drug prevention and health services, implement international drug control treaties fairly and proportionately, and prioritize social reintegration over punishment.”

Prof. Atasoy emphasized that the coming decade will bring new and complex challenges in the fight against drugs and noted that criminal networks will increasingly use artificial intelligence to optimize drug production, avoid detection, and personalize marketing strategies.

Calling for compassion especially toward people who use drugs, Prof. Atasoy said, “Stigma and discrimination remain the greatest barriers to seeking help. Addiction is a medical condition, not a moral failure.”

As part of the seminar series organized by the Psychology PhD Program of the Institute of Social Sciences at Üsküdar University, the topic “From Gambling to the Dopamine Addiction Cycle” was addressed. The online seminar, designed for master’s and doctoral students, featured Prof. Onur Noyan, a psychiatry specialist from NPİSTANBUL Hospital. Noyan emphasized that gamblification is a reinforcing factor in addictive behaviors.

The seminar was attended online by Dr. Idil Arasan Doğan, faculty member of the Psychology Department at the Institute of Social Sciences, along with other academics.

Drawing attention to the recent increase in violent incidents, arguments in traffic, domestic murders, people killing each other in the middle of the street, President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that there is group stress in the society due to drug use. Stating that the incidents should be seriously examined, Tarhan said that the incidents of violence may continue to increase.