Pubdate: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 Source: Himalayan Times, The (Nepal) Copyright: 2012 The Himalayan Times Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/cvzLserF Website: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5107 DRUG TRADE RILES COPS KATHMANDU: The penetration of pharmaceutical drugs such as diazepam and buprenorphine in the capital has anti-drug authorities in the city worried. Organised trade of such drugs, which can only be sold against a doctor's prescription is on the rise despite police crackdown on dealers and users, say officials. SSP Nawa Raj Silwal, deputy chief of Narcotic Drug Law Enforcement Unit, said racketeers were found to have switched to pharmaceutical drugs from hardcore ones such as cocaine, hashish and heroin. "Those found in possession of hardcore drugs get life imprisonment and their property is confiscated. But those convicted of smuggling pharmaceutical drugs needs to spend only around three years in jail," he added. SSP Silwal said teenagers and college goers account for the largest section of end users of pharmaceutical drugs. Detectives have caught more than 1,500 teenagers using drugs in various parts of the Valley in the last one month. The drug users were found in New Baneshwor, Gongabu, Chabahil, Kalanki, Kalimati, Maharajgunj and Bhaktapur. They were found to be using drugs in restaurants close to schools and colleges. "In the past, drug users used to look for solitary places. But the new generation of addicts prefer public places to hoodwink law enforcement agencies," he informed. According government figures, NDLEU and other divisions of Nepal Police have seized 40,000 ampules of diazepam and buprenorphine and busted five rackets in the past two months. Officials say that filling jails with racketeers was not a long-term solution to the problem. "We should make the youth aware about the consequences to save them from harmful drugs," SSP Silwal suggested. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom