c Report by Mona Soukkariyeh
Translated by Osama Habib
The head of the Central anti narcotic division Colonel Adel Mashmoushi said he is pushing for a national strategy to combat drug addiction in Lebanon.
Speaking to the National News Agency, Mashmoushi stressed that Lebanon is not the only country which is reeling under drug addiction, noting that this has become a phenomenon in many parts of the world.
The official stressed that this case has serious economic and social implications and in some cases it could spread corruption in the country. "In some cases, those involved in drug trafficking and trading spread corruption so that they can continue undeterred their illegal activity," Mashmoushi said.
He suggested that drug dealers take advantage of some weakness in government departments to sell their items. Mashmoushi organized many seminars and workshops over the past few years to highlight the dangers of drug addiction and prepared awareness campaign to weed out such bad practices.
The official noticed that most of the drug addicts are young people. Citing some statistics, Mashmoushi said that the authorities have rounded up close to 3,000 drug dealers and drug addicts. He indicated that even the drug dealers use constantly their products which they sell in the market. "We believe that the number of drug addicts in Lebanon is far more than 3,000 and it can easily be 5,000 to 6,000." Data shows that five percent of drug addicts are below 18 years old, 30 percent are aged between 18 and 25 years. But the official assured that the percentage of school students who use drugs do not exceed 6 percent of all those who were detained by the authorities. The percentage of women who used drug does not exceed four percent of all those who were detained, attributing the reason to the conservative nature of the Lebanese society.
Heroin, Cocaine and Hashish are among the common drugs consumed by drug addicts. Responding to a question, the official said some of the drug addicts consume dangerous pills that are prescribed by doctors and in some instances these patients go to more than one pharmacy to get the drugs they need. He added that the authorities have successfully destroyed most of the fields that grow opium and other types of cannabis. Most of the drugs that are being marketed in Lebanon are either smuggled illegally into the country across the border or via sea or sold in some pharmacies under different names. He promised to intensify the campaign against this phenomenon and pledged to increase the number of check points in all exits such as airports, ports and borders
