KUALA SELANGOR: The rising trend in drug addiction cases is worrying, as more than half involve teenagers and youth, says the National Anti-Drug Agency.
Its director-general Sutekno Ahmad Belon said more than 137,000 drug addicts were recorded last year. Among them, 65% were youth and teenagers.
He said drug addiction cases in the country had increased by 27% in the first six months of this year to 118,820 cases, compared to 93,534 reported in the same period last year.
“This upward trend is worrying,” he said at the agency’s media appreciation event here on Wednesday night, Bernama reported.
Sutekno said based on the trend of prohibited substance abuse in the last five years, the use of synthetic drugs was seen to be higher than organic drugs.
He said Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu were among the states that recorded the highest ratio per 100,000 residents involved in the problem of abuse, while Selangor recorded the highest number of addicts.
Sutekno pointed out that having too much free time was one of the main reasons teenagers and youths were getting involved in the drug menace.
