Tangerang worried on drug abuse at school

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang

The Tangerang municipal administration is concerned about the apparent rise in drug use at high school level and fears it is connected with drugs smuggled through the area's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Deputy Mayor Deddy Safei said on Wednesday there were strong indications drug abuse had widened among students at junior and senior high schools.

"Drugs do not only destroy the morality, mentality and physical condition of students. They kill them. Therefore, we must provide special attention to children of school age because they are very prone to drug abuse," he said.

The Anti-Narcotics National Movement (Granat) estimates that an average of 1,000 youngsters in the country die each year from drug-related deaths and says about 7.5 million people nationwide are drug addicts.

As a preventive step, the administration launched its Anti- Drug Program in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB) in 2001.

Municipality health agency head Nuriman Machyudin said since 2001, more than 1,200 students from 25 junior high schools and about 1,000 students from 10 senior high schools have been trained to become active members of the Anti-Drug Students Movement (Pantang).

In the group, students join regular discussions about drug abuse and its impact. The meetings are held monthly at 56 junior high schools, 10 senior high schools and Karang Taruna youth groups in 13 districts in the municipality.

The anti-drug campaign is supported by urine tests held regularly at schools, both for students and teachers, and at municipal administration offices.

On Wednesday, Deddy welcomed 500 new members to Pantang, most of which were junior high school students. The meeting was witnessed by YCAB secretary general Iskandar Irwan Hukom, health ministry officials, school principals and teachers.