Monday, December 04, 2006 Look into display of drugs on clothing, PDEA told
IF you consider shirts, bags and other items displaying pictures of prohibited drugs cool, think again.
The City Council last week asked the Dangerous Drugs Board and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to determine if the “blatant display of images and stickers” of illegal drugs like marijuana does not undermine the government’s program against drugs.
“The same might serve as a tool to wittingly or unwittingly glorify the use of illegal drugs when blatantly displayed on t-shirts, baseball caps, backpacks, and including vehicles,” read the resolution that City Councilor Edgardo Labella drafted.
Youth, students
He said many Cebuanos are concerned about images of illegal drugs, specifically marijuana, printed on products the youth and students patronize.
Pictures of the marijuana plant are also seen in bumpers and chassis of motorcycles and PUJs, even high-end vehicles like SUVs.
Next to shabu, marijuana is the most abused illegal drugs in the country today.
Labella quoted a Social Weather Station survey showing that an estimated 9.33 million Filipinos are hooked into drugs. The figure represents roughly 10 percent of the population.
The average profile of a Filipino drug user is 29 years old, male, single, and high school graduate belonging to a family with an income of P13,063 a month.
The same findings are reflected in separate surveys made by Pulse Asia, Vox Populi, and Philippine Normal College.
Labella said that despite efforts to root out the illegal drugs trade, it has reportedly ballooned into a “P700 billion industry.”
Thus, the “need to promptly address the alleged blatant display of images of marijuana and other similar prohibited drugs,” the resolution said.
Labella said that while printing images of illegal drugs can be useful in anti-illegal drug campaigns, displaying them as commercial attraction gives the wrong message. (RHM)
