SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1980
SIR DENYS OPENS YAU MA TEI ANTI-NARCOTICS CAMPAIGN
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THE CHIEF JUSTICE, SIR DENYS ROBERTS, TODAY (SATURDAY) STRESSED THAT IT WAS NOT ENOUGH TO TRY TO CUT OFF THE SUPPLY OF NARCOTICS, BUT +WE MUST ALSO SEEK TO REDUCE THE MARKET FOR DRUGS BY PREVENTING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE FROM RESORTING TO THEM.
SIR DENYS WAS SPEAKING AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE YAU MA TEI DISTRICT ANTI-NARCOTICS CAMPAIGN AT KOWLOON PARK.
HE POINTED OUT THAT PEOPLE BECOME DRUG ADDICTS FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, SUCH AS POOR EDUCATION, AN UNHAPPY FAMILY LIFE, AN UNSATISFACTORY ENVIRONMENT, THE PRESSURES AND FRUSTRATIONS OF CROWDED URBAN LIFE AND WEAKNESS OF PERSONALITY.
+AS LONG AS THESE FACTORS EXIST IN OUR SOCIETY, AS THEY MAY BE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO DO, THOSE WHO FAIL TO STAND UP TO THEM ARE LIKELY TO BE TEMPTED TO TAKE DRUGS, WHICH APPEAR TO OFFER A TEMPORARY MEANS OF ESCAPE FROM THE HARSH REALITIES OF LIFE.+
+AS PART OF THE DRIVE OF THE COMMUNITY AGAINST DRUGS WE MUST STRIVE TO MAKE YOUNG PEOPLE AWARE OF THE DANGERS OF DRUGS AND WE MUST ALSO HELP THEM IN POSITIVE WAYS, TO ADAPT TO, AND FLOURISH IN, OUR HIGHLY COMPETITIVE SOCIETY, HE SAID.
SIR DENYS ALSO NOTED THAT HONG KONG'S FIGHT AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING AND ABUSE HAD ACHIEVED CONSIDERABLE SUCCESS BOTH WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT AND OUTSIDE IN THE PAST YEARS.
HE POINTED OUT THAT THERE WAS A SHARP DROP IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE CONVICTED OF MINOR DRUG OFFENCES IN THE COURTS FROM A HIGH OF 16 200 IN 1974 TO 3 600 IN 1979 AND THE PERCENTAGE OF PRISONERS CONVICTED OF DRUG OFFENCES FELL FROM 27 PER CENT IN 1976 TO 18 PER CENT LAST YEAR.
*THE FIGURES SUGGEST THAT WE MAY CLAIM, WITH SOME CONFIDENCE, THAT HONG KONG'S DRUG PROBLEM HAS BEEN CONTAINED, PROBABLY FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE END OF THE WAR,+ HE SAID.
+A POTENT FACTOR IN THIS SUCCESS HAS BEEN THE REPLACEMENT OF PUBLIC APATHY AND INDIFFERENCE, SO EVIDENT SOME YEARS AGO, BY AN ACTIVE INTEREST AND INVOLVEMENT.+
+MUCH OF THE CREDIT FOR THIS MUST GO TO THE MANY COMMUNITY LEADERS, IN ALL DISTRICTS, WHO HAVE GIVEN SO MUCH OF THEIR TIME, THE IR ENERGIES AND THEIR RESOURCES TO PUBLICISE AND PROMOTE THE ANTI-NARCOTICS CAUSE,+ SIR DENYS SAID.
YAU MA TEI DISTRICT ANTI-NARCOTICS CAMPAIGN IS THE LAST OF THREE DISTRICT-LEVEL PREVENTIVE EDUCATION AND PUBLICITY CAMPAIGNS BEING LAUNCHED FOR THIS YEAR BY THE ACTION COMMITTEE AGAINST NARCOTICS IN CONJUNCTION WITH LOCAL ORGANISATIONS. THE OTHER CAMPAIGNS WERE HELD IN CENTRAL AND WESTERN AND YUEN LONG DISTRICTS BETWEEN SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER.
/DURING THE