COLOMBO DRUG ADDICTS FAVOUR 'CHASING THE DRAGON'

Drug abuse may be an islandwide problem in Sri Lanka. But for the majority
of drug addicts, Colombo offers a haven to indulge in their favourite method
of consuming drugs, namely `chasing the dragon'.

Out of some 87 per cent treated for drug abuse in the island, an
overwhelming - 68 per cent came from the Colombo district, followed by the
Southern and North Western provinces.

While heroin was the drug of choice of most who came for treatment, `chasing
the dragon' (the Chinese method) was the most preferred method of
consumption, states the newest handbook of Drug Abuse Information 2003
published by the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB).

The handbook further notes that the majority of persons who had received
treatment for drug use from state treatment as well as private and prison
treatment facilities had used heroin with cannabis a close second. The
majority of drug addicts were aged 20 to 40 years and were unmarried and
with the exception of two females were all males.

The educational level of most was between year 5 to GCE O/L, the handbook
notes. The NDDCB also notes an upward trend in the number of drug users, the
recorded 18,450 cases representing an increase of 19 per cent in 2002 over
the previous year. A marked shift in drug preference too has been noted with
the number of heroin cases up by 7 per cent while that of cannabis rose by
as much as 49 per cent over the previous year. The number of (male) arrests
too increased by 17 per cent although the number of females dipped, the
male-female ratio being 23 to 1 last year.

The formidable price hike on drugs has also not deterred the regular users,
notes the NDDCB which points out that the street price for brown heroin
increased by 34 per cent in 2002 compared to the previous year. It adds that
severe shortages of street heroin were experienced in mid 2001 and again
2002 with peddlers resorting to adulterants and dilatants such as caffeine,
diazepam, sucrose, lactose and paracetamol.