Singapore

Increasingly liberal youth attitudes on drugs a key challenge for CNB: Faishal Ibrahim


SINGAPORE – Against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving drug landscape, increasingly liberal attitudes – especially among youths – poses a key challenge for the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), said Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim on Tuesday (June 1).

The global trends of cannabis legalisation and new psychoactive substances (NPS) are two other important threats, he said in a speech at CNB’s annual workplan seminar held virtually this year.

Associate Professor Faishal, who is also Minister of State for National Development, noted that in three in every five new drug abusers arrested last year were also below 30.

“Results from public surveys show that the majority of youths are aware of the harms of drugs and support a tough stance against drugs,” said Prof Faishal. “However, there are indications that more youths are adopting more liberal views.”

He pointed to a 2019 survey by the National Council Against Drug Abuse, which showed that support for Singapore’s zero-tolerance stance towards drugs was 79 per cent for those below 30 – compared to 84 per cent for those 31 and older.

The Internet and social media platforms render youth more exposed to liberal views and policies such as harm reduction strategies and decriminalisation of abuse, said Prof Faishal.

He also pointed to how pop culture has contributed to the normalisation “and even glamorisation” of drug abuse, which then perpetuates “misperceptions that drugs are not as harmful as they actually are”.

In this area, CNB works closely with the arts and entertainment industry and, if necessary, the Infocomm Media Development Authority on appropriate licensing conditions for performances.

In some cases, said Prof Faishal, CNB may also recommend forbidding drug advocates from performing in Singapore, to not grant them “a platform to engage and influence an audience here”.

He also singled out the international movement towards being more permissive of recreational use of cannabis, with Canada and Uruguay having already legalised this.

In the United States, some states have also done the same. In Thailand, cannabis has been legalised for what Prof Faishal described as “so-called medical use”, with each household also permitted to cultivate up to six cannabis plants.

Prof Faishal said: “The harms of cannabis are clear. The adverse effects associated with long- term cannabis use, particularly increased risks of mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression and psychotic illness, are well-known.

“On the other hand, there is no evidence at all that raw cannabis is effective in treating any medical condition.”

Still, he noted, there remains a “very strong” pro-cannabis lobby driven by commercial interests. In the first half of 2020, over US$3.5 million (S$4.6 million) was spent lobbying the federal Government to remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances, with many cannabis companies providing the cash, said Prof Faishal.

He said it was “also worrying” that international organisations are supporting seemingly similar narratives, with the World Health Organisation’s expert committee on drug dependence tabling recommendations last year to lower controls over cannabis-related substances.


CNB’s mobile diary is a tool deployed to ground officers to digitalise on-scene documentation of case and exhibit details. PHOTO: CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU

These developments are not desirable and will gradually undermine Singapore’s zero-tolerance stance against drugs, said Prof Faishal.

New psychoactive substances are proliferating at an unprecedented rate, he said. Where 166 of these substances were detected in 2009, the number increased to over 1,000 in December 2020.

Abuse of such substances has been linked to adverse physical and psychological reactions, and even death, said Prof Faishal.

“It is not difficult for drug syndicates to alter chemical structures of existing NPS to avoid detection, and this is a continuous challenge for law enforcement agencies around the world.”

As part of CNB’s focus on ensuring effective enforcement, the agency will be tapping on technology and analytical tools.

Prof Faishal pointed to the portable mobile diary app that ground officers will use to improve on-scene, remote documentation of case and exhibit details, which can then be accessed by relevant parties easily for follow-up actions.

A CNB press release noted that the mobile diary would also help officers make instant electronic records of incidents and conduct screening on individuals or vehicles of interest while on the move.





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