DRUG PROBLEM MUCH BIGGER THAN IT IS MADE TO APPEAR

THE "TIANGGE" IN PASIG SOLD MARIJUANA and shabu to the very rich all
the way down to the very poor. After peddling drugs on the streets,
the drug lords and their middlemen are now into a more sophisticated
practice-letting their "clients" come to them instead; they're putting
up shops!

In Cebu, you find establishments where you can insert your arm into a
hole and, for a minimum charge of P30, ask for a shot, and a hidden
person injects the merchandise into your arm. Very quick and
impersonal service-you only see a hole and the person delivering the
drug only sees an arm.

While these marketing tools speak of new trends in the sale of illicit
drugs, the old methods of distributing dangerous drugs are still the
most used.

In some police precincts in Metro Manila and in other parts of the
country, the police round up the drug pushers and confiscate their
shabu, only to turn it over to "friendly" pushers.

In public and private schools, drug pushers go for students and supply
them with free samples of shabu until the "targets" become addicted to
the prohibited substance. Only then would pushers demand payment for
their "goods." With the need for money to buy illicit drugs, addicted
students start selling to fellow students. The marketing network grows
by leaps and bounds as new recruits become pushers.

A narration of the ways of drug pushing would be interesting but it
wouldn't be able to show the enormity of the drug problem our nation
faces.

A 1999 survey of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) revealed that the
Philippines had 3.4 million addicts-1.8 million regular and 1.6
million occasional users. But the number of prevalent users was
estimated at 9 million.

In June 2005, the DDB presented new figures: 6.7 million addicts; no
specifics were given on the number of regular and occasional users.

However, the number of prevalent users jumped to 11 million.

More troubling were the findings of a 2001 Social Weather Stations
survey. Commissioned by the National Drug Enforcement and Prevention
Center, they are reportedly being kept secret and have yet to see the
light of day. That survey indicated 9.3 million maximum addicts and
2.2 million minimum. Under the "maximum" category are those who
"partially admitted" to taking drugs; under "minimum" are those who
"completely admitted" to taking drugs. Whatever, the survey showed
that addicts are usually in a state of denial and tend to deny taking
drugs or admit a drug intake less than their actual.

A physician has to look into the vital signs of a patient and arrives
at a diagnosis through a battery of tests. In the war on illegal
drugs, knowledge of both the supply side and demand side is required.
And the public must be kept informed of the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth all the time!

Miguel Perez-Rubio, ambassador (ret.), 7 San Geronimo,

MagallanesVillage, Makati City