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More young people have liberal views towards drugs: Survey

SINGAPORE — Reflecting the rising trend of young drug abusers, a survey has shown a spike in the number of young people with liberal attitudes towards drugs. More of them are expressing that they are open to trying them for a new experience, if they are overseas, or if drug-taking does not affect their daily routine.

TODAY file photo of a CNB drug evidence bag held by a CNB officer during an early morning raid at a nightspot in January 29, 2016.

TODAY file photo of a CNB drug evidence bag held by a CNB officer during an early morning raid at a nightspot in January 29, 2016.

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SINGAPORE — Reflecting the rising trend of young drug abusers, a survey has shown a spike in the number of young people with liberal attitudes towards drugs. More of them are expressing that they are open to trying them for a new experience, if they are overseas, or if drug-taking does not affect their daily routine.

Among youth aged 13 to 21, 16 per cent of those polled held such views, up from about 11 per cent in 2013. 

More than one-third of the young respondents also think that cannabis was less harmful and not addictive, with this misperception largely perpetuated by various online sources alleging that cannabis had medicinal uses and should thus be legalised.

The figures and report were released on Thursday (April 27) by the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) in its youth and public perception survey. The survey also found that young people mainly get their drug-related content from mass media (68.4 per cent), social media (58 per cent) and websites (55 per cent). Many would stumble across them on music videos, celebrity blogs, song lyrics, or while surfing YouTube.

“With the social media’s popularisation of softer global attitudes towards drugs, there is a danger that youth could be more inclined towards a more liberal view of drugs over time. If left unchecked, they could form the next generation of drug abusers,” it added. 

Online drug peddling was flagged as a new concern when the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) released its annual statistics in February. Those found to have obtained drugs or related equipment online were between 20 and 39 years old.

The CNB also reported that 1,347 new drug abusers were caught last year, an increase of 3 per cent from 1,309 in 2015. Among these, almost two-thirds were under 30 years old. 

Addressing the further softening of perceptions towards cannabis, NCADA chairman Hawazi Daipi said: “We should avoid dichotomising soft drugs and hard drugs because soft drugs can lead to hard drugs.

“There have been a lot of studies that have found that even cannabis is highly addictive. A group of doctors at the Institute of Mental Health have scanned through some 500 articles from reputable journals and concluded that cannabis is highly addictive … we will start from informing the public that it’s not useful at all to define what are soft and hard drugs. Soft drug consumption can lead to hard drug addiction.”

Mr Luke Tan, executive director of halfway house Teen Challenge, said that the trend is not unfounded, due to the glamourisation of drug use by celebrities, as well as inaccurate information from peers and social media that drugs can help boost confidence, lose weight or help them stay focused and alert during the exam period. 

Mr Tan said that the young need to “get a wake-up call” by hearing stories from former drug users concerning the harmful effects of drug use.

The NCADA survey, done between 2015 and 2016, polled 2,748 people aged 13 to 30, including out-of-school youth, national servicemen and young working adults. This is the first time those aged 22 to 30 have been included.

In other findings, 84 per cent of those polled still have a negative view towards drugs, with most pointing out that their knowledge of the legal repercussions of drug abuse was a major deterrent. Some 94 per cent of the young people polled also said that they were confident in their ability to resist peer pressure and turn down drugs.

Even then, the council recommends that parents play a more active role by talking to their children about how harmful drugs are. 

Mr Hawazi said: “Singaporeans are practical people. (Parents) want advancement for their children — their well-being to be enhanced — but we need to encourage them to talk about this matter precisely because drugs are not a major issue in Singapore. We have to be aware of the pitfalls and dangers.”

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