ANTI-NARCOTICS DAY DAWNS WITH CALL TO REIN IN ADDICTS

Dubai

From roasting ants in the 1970s to using designer drugs in 2003, addicts
in the UAE have gone through the entire hellish trip.

They have sniffed glue, smoked hashish and injected themselves with heroin.
Observing International Anti-Narcotics Day, which falls today, UAE law
enforcement agencies are trying to find ways to be one step ahead of this
habit.

Not only do they have to grapple with traffickers who have devious ways of
smuggling narcotics, but also tackle an increasing number of drug abusers,
some as young as 12. According to the United Nations, the number of drug
addicts worldwide is around 13 million, 82 per cent of whom are below 30
years. The profits from the drug trafficking trade worldwide is estimated
at $690 billion.

With the onset of summer holidays, UAE authorities have urged parents to be
extra vigilant as this is the time when most youngsters get hooked.

Warning parents not to let their children travel unsupervised, Col Abdul
Jalil Mehdi Mohammed, Deputy Director of the Anti-Narcotics Department at
Dubai Police, said the majority of drug users take their first dose abroad.
Also during summer, idle youths are lured into illicit activities like
sniffing glue or trying out other hallucinogens.

Statistics from police revealed that 75 per cent of drug abusers prefer
hashish, 13 per cent use heroin while six per cent use morphine. "The real
hardened addicts are ones who are hooked on heroin. This is a tragedy as
many die either because of overdose, poisoning or simply because their
bodies cannot cope with the lifestyle anymore," he said.

As for 'designer drugs' such as Ecstasy, Col Abdul Jalil said the use is
still limited to Western expats here. He pointed to a relationship between
abuse and level of education, saying studies by Dubai Police have shown
that 75 per cent of drug abusers were holders of preparatory grade
certificates. Only two per cent were university graduates.

Peer pressure is one of the major reasons that prompt people to take to
drugs. "Such friends taunt their peers using phrases like 'You aren't man
enough if you don't try it!' So many try it out of curiosity" Another
factor is the inability to cope with seemingly insoluble problems. "This is
a major factor amongst the youth who come from broken homes and want to
fill the void of a lost parent," he said.