Drug addiction cases up 27% in first six months of 2023

Drug addiction cases increased by 27% in the first six months of the year to 118,820 compared to 93,534 reported in the same period last year.

National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) director-general Sutekno Ahmad Belon said the upward trend was worrying as more than half of the number involved youths and teenagers.

"More than 137,000 drug addicts were recorded last year and 65% of the total number involved youth and teenagers," he told reporters in Kuala Selangor last night.

He said based on the trend of prohibited substance abuse over the last five years, the use of synthetic drugs appeared to be higher than that of organic drugs.

Sutekno said Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu were among the states that recorded the highest ratio per 100,000 residents involved in abuse, while Selangor recorded the highest number of addicts.

He said having too much free time without any activities to do was one of the main contributing factors for teenagers and youths becoming involved in drugs.

"Because of that, we launched the Anti-Drug Squad this year to ensure that the youth have beneficial activities that can be implemented.

"We aim to attract as many as one million members by the middle of next year. So far, we have 120,000 members," he said.

The agency also aims for the rate of drug addiction to be below 400 people out of 100,000 residents in the country by 2025, compared with 426 people out of 100,000 residents recorded last year.

Sutekno also advised parents not to hide family members affected by drug addiction but to come to AADK for treatment.

"Prevention is better than cure, and it needs to start at home. The family should protect their children," he said.