| Associated
Press August 16, 2007 SINGAPORE ABOUT a thousand drug abusers were arrested in the first half of the year, doubling its number for the same period last year. According to the Central Narcotics Bureau, four out of five abusers arrested were repeat offenders, indicating that the problem of drug abuse is largely confined to the existing pool of abusers. Among those 999 arrested, some 400 were Subutex abusers. The bureau pointed out that as with any drug newly classified as a controlled substance, a high number of abusers was expected. According to the police, however, there was a significant number of Subutex users prior to its controlled-substance classification last August. With continued enforcement, they believe the numbers will decline. Heroin abusers made up the second biggest group, with some 300 arrests made. Of this, 30 were new abusers. Police said with the exception of heroin, there has been a drop in the number of new abusers of other drugs. "We will continue to maintain high-profile preventive drug education, so that the number of new abusers is kept low, and the drug addict population will remain confined strictly to the repeat abusers," said S Vijakumar, deputy director of the Central Narcotics Bureau. - CNA/ac |
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