Younger generation moving away from drugs

Lakshmi de Silva

The younger generation is moving away from drug abuse while a majority of drug offenders arrested during the last year were in the age group 30 years or above. Only 39 percent of drug offenders were in their twenties according to the latest report of the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board.

The report also said that heroin addiction or abuse had decreased.

Of the drug related arrests 28 percent was for heroin, 71 percent was for cannabis.

The Western Province had the largest number of drug offenders arrested which was 62 percent followed by the Southern Province 11 percent and Central Province nine percent.

The quantity of cannabis seized islandwide was 55, 696 kilograms and the street value of a kilogram of cannabis was around 20,000 rupees.

During the last three years the trend of using cannabis had increased by threefold. The number of cannabis related arrest was 10,835 in 2004 34,728 in 2005 and 33,848 arrests in 2008.

The highest number of cannabis offenders arrested were reported from the Colombo District followed by the Kalutara and Gampaha Districts. It is grown illicitly in the Eastern and Southern Provinces. The Police Narcotics Bureau seized large quantities of cannabis from Tangalle and Moneragala police divisions.

Cannabis grows in the rural areas and it is brought to Colombo and other provincial towns for more profit. Often public transport was used to traffic cannabis in order to avoid detection.

There is no significant increase of heroin related arrests or heroin users in the country and last five years data shows that heroin related arrests were decreasing. In 2004 there were 11,846 persons arrested and only 8050 persons were arrested in 2008 and it was a decrease of 32 percent the, report noted.

The street price of a kilogram of heroin in 2008 was around Rs. 4.5 million. Heroin was smuggled into the island by fishing boats or by couriers posing off as tourists and most of it was from Pakistan or India.

In 2008, seventeen kilograms of heroin were seized and 8,050 persons were arrested and 2 percent of them were women.

During the last five years 58 foreigners were arrested in Sri Lanka for drug offences. A total of 19 Sri Lankans including a woman were arrested for drug offences abroad. They were arrested in India, Dubai and Kuwait, the report also said.