Presiding over the Executive Yuan's 14th drug-control task force meeting today, Premier Jiang Yi-huah commended the efforts and hard work of relevant agencies, which in 2013 seized over 1,000 kilograms more narcotics than in the previous year (an increase of 39.4 percent).
The premier made these remarks after hearing the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office's latest analysis of the illegal drug situation in Taiwan.
Ketamine (a schedule 3 drug) comprised the largest share of all narcotics seized in 2013, demonstrating there is huge demand for it in the local market, Jiang pointed out. Moreover, those aged 18 to 23 (inclusive) made up the highest proportion (about 40 percent) of users of schedule 3 and 4 drugs. This implies that young people are abusing ketamine, and prevention and control of it is therefore critical. The task force will thus persist in monitoring ketamine abuse by youth. (There are four categories of drugs, schedule 1 to schedule 4, with schedule 1 considered the most addictive, schedule 2 the second-most, and so forth.)
The premier supported the Ministry of Health and Welfare's (MOHW) proposal to augment rehabilitation services for drug addicts, stating that this is a major task in narcotics prevention and control. Aside from cooperation across governmental agencies, there is need for integration of central and local governments' drug abuse prevention centers in order to utilize limited resources to maximum effect, he said. He thus instructed the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and MOHW to call together local government representatives to jointly discuss and formulate a concrete plan for viable budgetary sources and then submit it to the Executive Yuan for approval.
Regarding the MOJ's report on the current situation and policy recommendations regarding schedule 3 and 4 drug abuse by youth, the premier noted that juveniles who use these drugs mostly do so during group gatherings or in recreational venues (such as karaoke bars). While most of them do so out of curiosity, their behavior also demonstrates their ignorance of the danger of drug use, Jiang said. He thus enjoined the Ministry of Education (MOE) to strengthen publicity on drug prevention at school campuses and enhance students' knowledge of the hazards of drugs.
Statistics of police agencies that meted out administrative fines on cases committing schedule 3 and 4 drug abuses show that most of those arrested were first-time offenders, the premier pointed out. If appropriate assistance measures can be formulated based on their reasons for use or usage frequency, it will help raise the efficacy of drug prevention and help these individuals turn their backs on drugs, he said.
School-age young people apprehended by police for schedule 3 and 4 drug crimes, particularly first-time offenders and those who abused drugs out of mere curiosity, should first receive counseling from the education system's Chun-Huei program rather than immediately being sent to juvenile court, Jiang emphasized. He asked the MOE and the National Police Agency (NPA) under the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to strengthen their cooperation under existing liaison mechanisms, first filtering students from those arrested and then providing them follow-up counseling through the education system. Any legal amendment such a course of action requires should be deliberated by the MOJ and other relevant agencies as soon as possible, he said.
"Drug control is complex work, and a sound statistical database is needed to assist in policy planning," Jiang stated. Hence, he called for the NPA's database of penalties meted out for possession or use of schedule 3 and 4 drugs to be fully documented and offered to other anti-drug units for use. He instructed the MOJ and the NPA to make use of the current database and together with the MOE, MOHW and other relevant agencies establish in steps a comprehensive database that traces every step of drug control, from investigation to counseling.
Finally, the premier instructed the MOJ, MOE, MOI, MOHW and other relevant agencies to thoroughly carry out the MOJ report's recommendations on drug prevention policies that fall under their respective jurisdictions and directed the MOJ to compile information on the implementation results and then report them to the drug-control task force.