The Anti-Narcotics Standing Committee reviewed the drug situation in Hong Kong in the first half of 2021 at its quarterly meeting today (16th).
Although the number of reported drug abusers in the first half of this year decreased by 5% compared with the same period last year, the number of drug abusers under the age of 21 increased by 76%, and the proportion of middle school students increased sharply from 85 to 209. The number of reported marijuana smoking continued to rise, compared with last year. Over the same period an increase of 67%, of which the number of young people smoking marijuana increased by 92%.
In the first half of this year, 2,248 people were arrested for drug crimes, an increase of nearly 50%. Among them, the number of arrests under the age of 21 also rose to 348, an increase of more than 70%.
The number of reported marijuana smoking continued to rise, an increase of 67% over the same period last year. Among them, the number of young people smoking marijuana increased by 92%.
(Information Picture/Photographed by Lin Zhenhua)
According to figures from the Central Archives of Drug Abuse Information, the total number of reported drug abusers in the first half of this year decreased slightly by 5% compared with the same period last year, from 3,594 to 3,426. However, the number of reported drug abusers under the age of 21 increased by 76%. Increased from 290 to 511.
Among them, the number and ratio of students in this age group has increased compared with the same period last year, from 85 to 209, or 30.4% to 43.4%.
The number of reported marijuana abusers increased by 67%
The number of reported marijuana abusers increased by 67% from the same period last year, from 346 to 578.
The number of reported cannabis use among young people under the age of 21 increased by 92% from the same period last year, from 147 to 282.
Cannabis is the most frequently harmful psychotropic drug reported by young drug users under 21 years of age, accounting for 55.6% of this age group.
The number of reported cocaine use increased by 42%, from 403 to 571. Among them, the number of young people under 21 increased by 77%, from 111 to 196; the number of reported ketamine use increased by 28%, from 254 The number has risen to 324, and the number of young people under the age of 21 is twice that of the same period last year, rising from 33 to 66.
The number of reported use of psychotropic drugs increased by 20%
In the first half of 2021, the number of drug users reported for the first time increased by 38% from the same period last year, from 720 to 991, among which 43% were 21 to 35 years old.
The median "drug age" (that is, the time from the first drug use to the reporting by the filing agency) of the first reported drug addicts is 3.3 years, and the figure for 2020 is 5 years.
In the same period, the number of reported use of psychotropic drugs increased by 20% from the same period last year, from 1,941 to 2,320, while the number of narcotic analgesics decreased by 34% from the same period last year, from 2,068 to 1,355.
In the first reported case, the number of people who smoked psychotropic drugs was 916, which continued to far exceed the number of narcotic analgesics by 54 people, and marijuana was the drug used by most people, with 339 people.
Among the reported total number of drug users, heroin is still the single drug type most commonly consumed. The number of reported abusers decreased by 34% from the same period last year, from 2,065 to 1,355.
The most commonly consumed psychotropic drug continued to be methamphetamine (commonly known as "ice"). The number of reported abusers dropped by 10%, from 702 to 633.
Dr. Li Guodong, Chairman of the Anti-Drugs Standing Committee, said: "The trend of marijuana and ketamine use has recently increased, and the number of cocaine users has also increased. The reported use of these drugs by teenagers is of particular concern." (Photo/Photo by Li Zetong)
The number of arrests under 21 has risen by more than 70%
In addition, the number of arrests for drug-related crimes in the first half of 2021 rose from 1,504 in the same period last year to 2,248, an increase of nearly 50%; the number of arrests of young people under the age of 21 rose from 203 in the same period last year to 348. An increase of more than 70%.
Dr. Li Guodong, Chairman of the Anti-Narcotics Standing Committee, pointed out, "The trend of smoking marijuana and ketamine has recently increased, and the number of cocaine users has also increased. The reported use of these drugs by teenagers is of particular concern.
Narcotics Commissioner Law Cuiwei pointed out that it is necessary to remind young people that committing drug crimes will bear serious criminal liabilities.
Being young is not a valid reason for intercession.
Earlier, a young man who was only 16 years old at the time of the crime was sentenced to more than two years in jail for trafficking in and possessing about 6 grams (weight less than a button) of marijuana and cocaine for coveting a return of only 5,000 yuan.
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