Drug addicts reach 2 million

MANADO, North Sulawesi: The number of drug addicts in the country has reached an alarming mark of two million, a police official said here on Wednesday.

The National Police's director of drugs and addictive substance abuse, Brig. Gen. (Pol.) Sudirman Ail, told a seminar that most of the addicts were aged between 15 and 30 years old, although in big cities like Jakarta, teenagers under 15 had also been affected, Antara reported.

"Beginners usually consume 0.20 grams of drugs every day, spending a total of Rp 1.6 trillion per day. But a junkie could use up to four grams a day," he said.

About 2,000 high school students attended the seminar on drugs abuse.

Sudirman called on the students to support the nationwide antidrug campaign.

"The preventive measures include regular seminars or dialogs involving non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which are involved in the antidrug drive," he added. (09)