5 percent of university students are drug addicts

Saudi Gazette report DAMMAM — The National Anti-Drugs Committee has disclosed that five percent of university students are drug addicts and 10 percent are smokers. Awatif Al-Diraibi, women programs director at the committee, said drugs worth SR34 million were seized during the past year, Al-Watan daily quoted her as saying. “Drugs are extremely dangerous to the human body as they cause multiple mutations to various body parts. Drugs cause the eyes to redden and bulge and the pupil to dilate. Drugs cause infection to the nasal mucous membrane and cancer of the mouth,” said Al-Diraibi. She added drugs also cause severe bronchitis and various respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. “Treatment for drugs is not a unified program. Each drug addict must undergo a medical, psychological and social assessment. Each addict requires a different method of treatment. Even the duration of treatment is different depending on the drug used,” said Al-Diraibi. She added the addict’s responsiveness is also important to take into account when devising the treatment program. “There are legal consequences to smuggling, selling and taking drugs. Drug smugglers face death sentence, drug dealers are detained and fined for their first arrest and executed on their second arrest and those who take drugs face imprisonment and other penalties,” said Al-DIraibi. She added drug addicts coming to the committee seeking treatment are not tried nor criminalized in any way. “There are many social, psychological and financial factors leading one to become a drug addict. Drug addiction can also be hereditary. If a child was born into a family where one of the family members was a drug addict and the child had drugs around him, he is most likely to become an addict,” said Al-Dirabi. She also said smoking can be a gateway into drug use as drugs are viewed as the next step of addiction after nicotine addiction.