Pubdate: Tue, 26 Jun 2001
Source: Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
Copyright: The Jakarta Post
Contact:  http://www.thejakartapost.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/645
Author: Chris W. Green

WE SHOULD TRY TO STOP DRUG ABUSE

JAKARTA (JP): Few people in Indonesia can now be unaware that we face a 
major threat from drugs. Hardly a day goes by without a report of a drug 
seizure, arrest of a trafficker, or a death by overdose. We are seeing 
wider evidence of our young people turning to injecting themselves with 
heroin or other illicit drugs. And slowly the size of the problem of 
transmission of HIV and AIDS that this brings is becoming more apparent.

Last month, the Ministry of Health reported another 59 cases of HIV and 
AIDS resulting from injecting drug use. Now, this is the cause of one in 
four of the reported cases of infection, up from less than one in a hundred 
less than two years back.

For the first time, the ministry also reported the breakdown of cases of 
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome caused by sharing needles: 86 per cent 
are under 30. Bearing in mind that it usually takes at least 10 years after 
infection by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus before people show the 
symptoms of AIDS, that means that the vast majority became infected in 
their teens, in many cases in their early teens.

Is our message about the dangers of drug use reaching children in that age 
group? Some, but clearly not all. We can consider the glass as half full, 
noting optimistically that a large number of our youth do not use drugs. 
But what should we be doing about those we miss? Once they have become 
hooked, telling them to "Just Say No" clearly is unlikely to make a 
difference -- consider how hard we find it to say no to cigarettes.

The theme chosen for this year's International Day against Drug Abuse and 
Illicit Trafficking on June 26 is "Sports end Drugs" 
(http://www.undcp.un.or.th/work/international%20day/sport_end_drug.htm)
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MAP posted-by: GD