DATA from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) since 2003 show
more Chinese addicts being arrested every year than from the other
races.
The figures for the first half of this year are sobering. Of the
446 drug abusers arrested, 74 per cent are Chinese, 17 per cent are
Malays and 7 per cent Indians. The rest are from other races. The
figures were about the same for the whole of last year.
Based on CNB data for last year, the typical profile of a synthetic
drug abuser in Singapore is a Chinese man in the 20-29 age
group.
He is likely to have primary or secondary education and is likely
to be employed as a service, shop or market sales worker.
Glenn, 29, not his real name, is a typical example of a synthetic
drug abuser.
He is clean-cut, has no tattoos, is soft-spoken and does not have
family problems.
He started abusing drugs at 14. He is on a six-month drug
rehabilitation programme at the Christian Care Services
Centre.
He has just completed a five-year prison sentence for consumption
of Ketamine. He received one-third remission for good
behaviour.
At 21, he was jailed for three years for consumption of
Ecstacy.
Glenn was introduced to 'goo', a Hokkien slang for marijuana, at a
party. At 18, he turned to synthetic drugs such as Ecstacy,
Ketamine and Ice.
Today, he's adamant about quitting. He said he has disappointed his
family, especially his mother.
He said it would help if the Chinese community sees drug addiction
as a problem within the community and tackles it head on.
He said: 'Yes, I think it would (help). To know the horrors that
drugs can cause - to hear it in your own language and environment.
It might frighten some kids away from taking them.'
Staff of halfway houses also worry that the classification of
Subutex as an illegal substance may mean a comeback for
heroin.
But the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) was quick to add that it has
not let up in its fight against heroin trafficking and abuse.
A spokesman told The Starits Times: 'The supply of heroin remains
scarce and there is no evidence so far of a displacement effect
from Subutex.'