SYNTHETIC DRUGS

Column: 971

SYNTHETIC DRUGS

16.

Ms Indranee Rajah asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what steps are being taken to combat the perception among young Singaporeans that synthetic drugs are merely "recreational drugs" and therefore harmless and non-addictive; and (b) whether there is a rehabilitation programme for users of synthetic drugs.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Unlike those who abuse traditional drugs such as heroin, synthetic drug abusers often do not experience severe physical withdrawal symptoms. This, coupled with the fact that synthetic drugs are often abused at nightspots and rave parties, has led to the perception that synthetic drugs are harmless, non-addictive and can be used as a form of recreation. Therefore, synthetic drug abusers, especially the young and impressionable, think that taking synthetic drugs is not really harmful, but is hip and cool.

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) is aware of this. Thus, CNB has organised many preventive drug education (PDE) activities targeting youths to highlight the danger of taking synthetic drugs. For example, CNB conducts talks, competitions, drama retreats and camps to highlight the harmful effects of synthetic drugs. In addition, the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) and CNB have been organising the annual "Clubs Against Drugs" Campaign to enlist club operators to promote anti-drug messages to their patrons who are mainly young adults. NCADA also mounted a media campaign against ketamine abuse in March this year, targeting specifically youths.

Many audio-visual materials such as videos, posters and pamphlets on synthetic drugs have also been distributed to schools. These include an animated video titled "The Way Out" which highlights the dangers of synthetic drugs such as ketamine, 'Ice' and 'Ecstasy'; a "Treading on Ice" video which describes the pain and suffering of three ex-'Ice' abusers caused to themselves and their loved ones, and a docu-drama entitled "Temptations" where local icons such as Zoe Tay and Stephanie Sun put across strong anti-drug messages.

All these measures have borne fruit. The number of synthetic drug abusers arrested dropped from 564 in the first half of last year to 314 in the first half of this year. In particular, the number of young synthetic drug abusers arrested, ie, those below 20 years, declined sharply from 95 to 48. CNB will continue to focus its PDE programmes on synthetic drugs to ensure that these drugs do not gain a foothold in Singapore, especially among our youths.

Convicted synthetic drug abusers are currently sentenced to imprisonment in penal institutions and do not benefit from the rehabilitative programmes that opiate abusers undergo at the Drug Rehabilitation Centres (DRC). We have reviewed this and will be introducing a DRC regime for synthetic drug abusers in lieu of imprisonment by this year. This will offer them a more focused rehabilitation programme which will minimise the chances of them going back to drugs. In addition, the Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-offenders (CARE) Network will continue to provide aftercare support services for these abusers after their discharge.