Wednesday, September 10, 2008 War on drugs fought in homes, campuses, workplaces
TEENAGERS and children are now being used as drug pushers and couriers nationwide, and the war against dangerous drugs is now being fought inside homes, campuses, and workplaces.
It is in those places where the lure of illegal drugs manifests itself through youthful curiosity and peer pressure.
This was disclosed by Secretary Vicente Sotto III, chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), during the 16th National Youth Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention Education opening ceremony last Friday.
"At their tender ages, they are exempt from criminal liability, being below 18 years of age. We at the DDB are now studying alternative mechanisms to deter those below 18 years old from being unwitting victims of drug abuse," Sotto said.
"Resist the first offer, the first hit, the first smoke. Be a killjoy for once and save your own life. Never let those who peddle illegal drugs take hold of you because the alternative is disastrous to your life and mental health, that of yours and the rest of your family," he said.
Sotto told congress participants that based on statistics, most drug dependents in the country's rehabilitation facilities are between 25 and 29 because they started using dangerous drugs for the first time at the young age of 15 to 19.
"They were just about your age when they started experimenting with illegal drugs. More than half of them even admitted that their friends were their popular source of drugs," he pointed out.
"Nowadays, rugby-sniffing boy and girls, especially in our streets in Metro Manila, look as young as 10 years old. About 40 candidates line up for voluntary confinement in our country's rehabilitation centers every month and more than half of them are either teenagers or young adults," Sotto continued. He stressed that such reports merely validate what is being observed everyday by researchers of the DDB.
The congress, which was held in Baguio for the second time since its inception, was held here in Venus Parkview Hotel from September 4 to 7. (ENO)
