Drug addicts reach 2 million

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)