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HCM CITY —  More and more young people are turning to drug addiction in both HCM and Đà Nẵng cities.

Data released has revealed that in the first nine months of this year there has been a 15 per cent increase in the number of registered addicts in HCM City while in Đà Nẵng, the amount raised by 38.7 per cent in the first half of 2020 compared to last  year.

Trần Ngọc Du, head of the Social Evils Prevention Division under the HCM City’s Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs department, said drug addicts in the city were mainly young people, aged between 18 and 35, accounting for 60 per cent of the total number of drug addicts.

Du said that most of them preferred the extravagant lifestyle but have little knowledge of the dangers of drugs.

He also added that the main reason for the increase in drug addicts was because of the rise in the amount of people being seduced into the illegal lifestyle.

During the implementation of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, drug crimes had shifted its operation from hotels, restaurants, bars, karaoke shops and clubs to private houses and houses or rooms for rent, he said.

The complicated developments of drug-related crimes were also a great challenge for drug prevention and control as well as security and order in the city, he said.

A report of the People’s Committee of Đà Nẵng City said the amount of drug addicts aged between 18 nad 30, accounted for 77 per cent of the total drug users in the city.

The report also said that 2.7 per cent of students in the city were found to illegally trade and store drugs.

Đà Nẵng City now has more than 3,800 drug addicts while HCM City has over 27,000 drug addicts, the Tuổi trẻ (Youth) online newspaper.

Solutions

Du said HCM City needed to focus on promoting education of the importance of drug prevention, especially in schools as a solution to fix the situation.

The police force should carry out more raids to curb the drug crimes in the city as well as improving the police’s capability to fight against the problem, he said.

Nguyễn Xuân Cường, head of the Investigating Drug-related Crime Office under the Đà Nẵng City’s Police Department said police in every district in the city had taken a range of measures to fight against the drug crimes in the city, including tightening control in key routes and areas.

In a related movement, the police department already issued a plan to combat crimes, including drug crimes, in bars, pubs, karaoke shops in an effort to eliminate the drug crimes in the city. — VNS