Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jan 2004
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2004 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact:  http://www.boston.com/globe/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Jill Carroll, Globe Correspondent

IRAQI OFFICIALS FEAR ABUSE OF MEDICINES IS FUELING CRIME

BAGHDAD -- Every night around 8, Mohammed Fakhri watches the street
boys emerge from the shadows of the capital's rough-and-tumble
Betaween neighborhood. They roam past Fakhri's metalworking shop,
watchful -- he says -- for an opportunity to commit robberies.

He believes they are not driven simply by boredom and poverty, but by
drugs. From his narrow workshop amid the warren of small streets and
sagging British colonial-era buildings, Fakhri has watched drug use
soar in the capital since the war ended, he said.

Under Saddam Hussein, the antidrug program was simple: death for users
and sellers. But just after the war, looters ransacked hospitals and
government stores of medicine, and much of it has landed on the
streets of Baghdad, according to ordinary Iraqis and police officials.
Of particular concern are drugs meant to treat psychiatric disorders.

"You can see them here in this neighborhood," Fakhri said. "They use
medicine. It is cheap, not like hashisheh," as marijuana is called in
Iraq.

Colonel Ahmed Aboud, who heads the police force in the Jadeed
neighborhood of Baghdad, pulled open his desk drawer recently and
tossed a small pack of beige pills onto his desk. It is a typical
example of what his officers find for sale during their thrice-daily
patrols for drugs.

The sheet of 15 small pills is labeled Benzhexol HCL, which is used to
treat Parkinson's disease and to counter the effect of antipsychotic
medications. But an overdose can bring on hallucinations. The sheet
costs about $3 on the streets.

"If [someone] uses these tablets . . . he will do anything," Aboud
said.

Lacking detailed records, authorities are not sure how many Iraqis are
abusing the medications, as well as other drugs. General Ahmed
Ibrahim, head of Iraqi police, put the figure at about 5 percent, up
from 2 percent under Hussein. Police in neighborhoods known for drug
use say the figure could be as high as 15 percent.

But the authorities say they are sure of the effects of the
medications when they end up in the wrong hands. "This kind of
medicine pushes them to commit more crimes," including carjackings,
murders, assaults, and familial abuse, said a major in the Maydan
police station who declined to give his name. "It's cheap and affects
them like alcohol."

While coalition officials played down the extent of the problem,
Iraqis worry that recreational drugs are gaining a foothold in the
country. Police and residents say cocaine, heroin, and marijuana are
entering Iraq more freely now from other countries, mainly Iran. The
southern town of Amarah is widely thought to be a major stop for drugs
flowing from Afghanistan and Iran into countries along the Persian
Gulf.

Dr. Hashim Zainy, head of the Baghdad psychiatric hospital, which
houses Iraq's only drug treatment clinic, said that before the war the
abuse of medicines was confined to prisoners and soldiers. But the
habit scattered among the general population after Hussein emptied
prisons and the army disintegrated, he said.

"Previously, the sources of medicines were very limited," Zainy said.
"The only sources were hospitals. Nowadays, it is spreading in the
street."

His 74-bed clinic once received patients from all over the country.
Now, so few come that he cannot collect reliable statistics on drug
use. Patients stay away partly because they now are afraid to travel
in a country where roadside bombs are common, Zainy said, but also
because he restricted prescriptions when he took over the clinic
almost a year ago in an attempt to prevent the misuse of the
medicines. "The problem of drug abuse is underreported. One of the
many reasons they came to this hospital is to get drugs."

On Muraba'a Street, residents say roaming young men buy the medicines
from gangs that have taken over the neighborhood, and crush them for
use in cigarettes or pop them whole.

"If [gangs] hear I am informing on them and giving details, tomorrow
they kill me and my brother," said Jassam Haj, 50, standing next to
his brother in their spare-parts shop. The brothers are angry about
the crime bred by the drugs.

"When they take this kind of [antipsychotic] tablet, they have a sign
hanging on them: 'Killer for rent,' " said Haj's brother, who declined
to give his name. "In Saddam's time, it was very bad. But the best
thing Saddam did was be strict with drug users and sellers. They
killed them."

Haj's brother said local gangs demand protection money, the equivalent
of about $50, from merchants. The short, pudgy man waved at a
neighboring shop. "He didn't pay," he said. "They looted his shop four
times."

Aboud, the police colonel, said financing from the US-led authority
for sting operations to catch gangs selling drugs has dropped off.
"During the previous regime's time, the informants were paid a lot of
money because it is dangerous work," he said. "But now we haven't got
a good budget to solve the problem. There are less informants now for
all crimes."

But Ibrahim, the Iraqi police chief, said American authorities have
provided ample resources, including developing a new antidrug unit.
The specialized 25-person unit is one of five being organized, with
each focusing on a different type of crime.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake