Pubdate: Mon, 29 Dec 2014
Source: Today's Zaman (Turkey)
Copyright: 2014sFeza Newspaper Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.todayszaman.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4547
Page: 3

REPORT REVEALS DRUG USE IN TURKEY INCREASED 17-FOLD

A report released by the National Police Department indicates that the
use of illegal narcotics, particularly bonzai, a synthetic
cannabinoid, is 17 times greater than it was three years ago in
Turkey, and that the number of deaths caused by the substances
increased drastically from 162 in 2013 to 648 in 2014.

According to a report released by the National Police Department
Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Bureau (KOM) on Saturday, bonzai
was not even a known substance four years ago, but it has recently
become widely available on the illegal drug market in Turkey. Police
highlighted that there are now some 400 varieties of bonzai found in
the country and the report warned that deaths caused by bonzai could
increase in the near future.

The report also reveals that the efforts of the government are
inadequate to fight the illegal drug market, which mainly targets
young people between the ages of 15 and 30. According to the report,
in Turkey in 2014, one drug use victim was under the age of 15, 26
deaths were of users who were between the ages of 15 and 19, another
54 victims were aged 25 to 29 and 25 deaths were of people between the
ages of 30 and 34.

In addition, the lives of another 27 people between the ages of 35 and
39 were lost to drug use, as well as 26 people who died at the age of
40, eight victims aged 45 and six who died at the age of 50 as a
result of drug use. Of the total, 232 people died because of the
direct effect of the drugs and 416 died due to drug-use-related disease.

Istanbul is by far the place where drug caused deaths are the
most common, followed by the cities of Antalya, Adana and Ankara.

According to the report, an overwhelming majority of users, 80
percent, get their drugs from street dealers. Another option for many
is to obtain them from friends. A "friend effect" is listed as the
number one reason many of those detained for drug use, 41 percent,
started to use drugs. This is followed by "curiosity," at 27 percent.

The report also notes that 69.74 percent of the drug users in the
study are only primary school graduates and 66.49 percent are not married.
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MAP posted-by: Matt