TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1988

OUT

OF CURIOSITY AND WERE NOT

"MOST LIKELY THEY STARTED WITH MANDRAX THEY DID NOT GIVE UP ABUSING BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THE DRUGS REALLY DANGEROUS," HE SAID.

HOWEVER, DR CHOA SAID MORE THAN 90 PER

BY THE SURVEY CONSIDERED

COVERED PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES WAS HARMFUL.

CENT OF THE STUDENTS THAT THE NON-MEDICAL USE

OF

DRUGS MOST DID NOT APPROVE OF PEOPLE ABUSING REGULARLY AND THEY THOUGHT THEIR ABUSED DRUGS.

OCCASIONALLY OR PARENTS WOULD DISAPPROVE IF THEY

COMMENTING ON THE SURVEY FINDINGS, THE COMMISSIONER FOR

GARETH MULLOY, SAID NARCOTICS, MR

THE SURVEY HAD CONFIRMED THE EXISTENCE AND MEASURED THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM AMONG STUDENTS.

THIS FOLLOWED COMMUNITY CONCERN IN RECENT YEARS THOUGH FAR FROM BEING A PROBLEM AS SERIOUS AS HEROIN ADDICTION, HE SAID.

IT

WAS

ABOUT 97 PER CENT OF THE 39,000 ACTIVE DRUG ADDICTS REPORTED ABUSE TAKE TO THE GOVERNMENT'S COMPUTERISED CENTRAL REGISTRY OF DRUG HEROIN AS THE PRIMARY DRUG.

MR MULLOY SAID: "PUBLICITY HAS, IN FACT, BEEN STEPPED UP SINCE LAST YEAR THROUGH POSTERS, LEAFLETS, EXHIBITIONS, AND TV AND RADIO ANNOUNCEMENTS OF PUBLIC INTEREST TO WARN YOUNGSTERS ABOUT OF ABUSING PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS.

THE DANGER

DIVISION TECHNICAL SO AS SUBSTANCES,

"ADDITIONALLY, THE SCHOOL TALKS TEAM IN THE NARCOTICS HAS INTENSIFIED ITS EFFORTS TO EDUCATE SECONDARY SCHOOL AND INSTITUTE STUDENTS ABOUT THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF THE DRUGS DISSUADE THEM FROM ABUSING OR EXPERIMENTING WITH ILLICIT HE SAID.

|

ACAN, "WITH SUPPORT FROM PSYCHOTROPIC DRUG ABUSERS, PS 33, KONG CHRISTIAN SERVICE EARLY THIS IN NEED.

TO

THE FIRST COUNSELLING CENTRE FOR UP BY THE HONG HAS ALSO BEEN SET YEAR TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO

THOSE

THE "ALL THESE MEASURES CLEARLY INDICATE THAT

GOVERNMENT AND ARE TAKEN POSITIVE STEPS TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM

IN MOVING RIGHT DIRECTION ON PREVENTION EDUCATION AND PUBLICITY," HE ADDED.

HAS THE

"WE WILL CONTINUE TO CLOSELY MONITOR THE SITUATION AND TAKE FURTHER ACTION WHEN NECESSARY, MR MULLOY SAID.

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