Cocaine Among 14-Year-Olds: Canary Islands Report Dramatic Surge in Youth Drug Use

The warning signs are unmistakable: cocaine use among young people in the Canary Islands has reached levels that alarm addiction experts. During a visit by Las Palmas Mayor Carolina Darias to the facilities of Cesica–Proyecto Hombre on Monday, a picture emerged that goes far beyond routine drug warnings.

Cannabis Was Yesterday — Cocaine Is the New Problem

María del Carmen Lázaro, director of Proyecto Hombre Canarias, describes a fundamental shift. The classic profile of a teenage drug user — cannabis, maybe some alcohol — is changing. Today, 14-year-olds sit in her counselling offices who use cocaine. Not as exceptions, but as a growing trend.

The numbers back up the alarm. Half of the 2,073 people who sought help at Proyecto Hombre centres in 2024 came because of cocaine addiction. Alcohol follows at 19 percent, then crack at 18 percent. Cannabis, long the dominant substance among young people, is being displaced by harder drugs.

No Beds for Addicted Teenagers

What makes the situation particularly critical in the Canaries: there is no residential therapeutic facility for underage addicts in the entire archipelago. When a teenager cannot control their consumption in their family or social environment, therapists are left choosing between makeshift solutions and transferring them to mainland Spain.

Proyecto Hombre currently supports 64 young people through its Nova and Reiníciate programmes — outpatient only. The organisation works with schools, families and social services to identify risky behaviour early. But outpatient programmes reach their limits when addiction is already advanced.

Alcohol as Gateway, Cocaine as Destination

Lázaro describes a typical progression: it starts with normalised alcohol consumption — a bottle shared in a park, a glass at home. This becomes regular use, and from there the path to cocaine is shorter than many parents believe. Particularly dangerous: mixing alcohol and cocaine produces cocaethylene, a metabolite that multiplies liver toxicity and cardiovascular risk.

Since the pandemic, problems have doubled according to Proyecto Hombre. Mental health burdens among young people have increased, inhibitions have dropped. The organisation also reports a rise in women seeking help — from 2-3 percent of all cases a few years ago to 16 percent today.

What Politicians Are Doing — and What's Missing

Las Palmas has increased funding for Proyecto Hombre from €179,000 to €184,000. A signal, but a drop in the ocean given the scale of the problem. What Lázaro has demanded for years: a residential facility for teenagers, more prevention funding, and political acknowledgment that youth addiction is an emergency.

Reality looks different. Alcohol remains socially accepted. Cocaine is cheap and easily available in the Canaries — the archipelago's geostrategic position on the Atlantic drug route makes the islands a hub for international trafficking. And while prevention programmes reach 7,000 young people annually, that is not enough when 14-year-olds are already reaching for the hardest substance available.