CORDI YOUTH ARE NUMBER 4 USERS OF MARIJUANA: GUV

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- The Provincial Peace and Order Council
(PPOC), in coordination with the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNCF), will be conducting an intensified information campaign against
drug addiction in schools in the province.

Mountain Province Governor Maximo Dalog said the advocacy campaign is
assigned to the reactivated Special Committee Against Drug Abuse
(Scada), now a permanent committee of the PPOC, adding that a pool of
speakers will be identified to discuss the ill effects and risk of
using illegal drugs among minors.

In his State of the Province Address (Sopa), Dalog said reports
reaching his office revealed there are school children using drugs,
especially marijuana. "We must not allow this or else, we will be
sacrificing the future of our children," he said.

He also cited a report showing that adolescents in the Cordillera
region have been listed as fourth among the users of marijuana in the
country.

Study showed that children using illegal drugs like marijuana are
likely to develop significant health and behavior problems. Most
minors involved in violence or those getting in trouble with the law
are under the influence of prohibited drugs.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last week ordered a massive
crackdown on illegal drugs following the discovery of a shabu bazaar
in Pasig City. She appealed to various sectors to help in the
government's campaign to eliminate drug menace in the country.

"The festering drug problem signals corruption, social decay and
familial disintegration. We must wield the consolidated power of all,
concerned agencies, the schools, the private sector and the church to
bear upon this grim challenge," Arroyo said.