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China should enact a law so as to beef up anti-drug drive as
soon as possible, said a member of the National Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on the
ongoing CPPCC session Tuesday. He warned the growing number of
young drug abusers against greater troubles and urged them to
abandon drug addiction.
Last year, people under the age of 35 make up 72.2 percent of
China's 1.03 million registered drug addicts and the number keeps
increasing rapidly.
Huang Jingjun, a member of the CPPCC National Committee, said
more than 70 percent of the money used to buy drugs come from
illegal sources, leading many young abusers to committing crimes
such as robbery, theft and prostitution to finance their
addiction.
Meanwhile, drug addiction proved to be a major cause of HIV
infection. In 2003, 63 percent of HIV infections in China was
caused by drug addiction, and many of the infected victims are
youngsters.
In some Chinese reform-through-labor centers, drug abusers under
25 account for over 60 percent of the total number of detainees
with the youngest abuser being only eight years old, said Huang. A
dearth of social experience and a lack of education were, among
other factors, have led to the rapidly increasing figure of young
drug abusers.
The CPPCC member also attributed the grave situation of
adolescent drug abuse to the drug-smuggling activities in the
country. In 2003, Chinese police cracked some 90,000 drug-related
crime cases and captured more than 60,000 drug dealers. Some 9.5
tons of heroine, nearly 1,000 kg of opium, 5.8 tons of "ice", or
methamphetamine hydrochloride, and 72 tons of drug-making chemicals
were seized.
Many drug dealers employed youngsters to transfer and sell
drugs, victimizing the youth and instigating them to victimize
others, warned Huang, who called for arousing all the possible
forces to inform the whole society, especially the young people, of
harms of drug abuse and step up anti-drug efforts.
In addition, he noted, the Chinese society should take a more
tolerant and caring attitude toward young drug abusers and even
those involved in crimes by lessening their penalties and helping
them rehabilitate both mentally and physically.
Huang also called for faster pace to tabling an administrative
regulation on management of drug-making chemicals.
(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2004)
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