Drug abuse figures fall, but Ecstasy bucks trend
The number of reported Ecstasy users has almost quadrupled in the past year despite an overall drop in the number of officially listed drug addicts, new figures reveal.
Abuse of another psychotropic drug, triazolam, is also on the rise, with quarterly statistics showing a marked increase in the number of addicts registered this year against the same period last year.
Officials say 5,527 drug abusers were reported to the Central Registry of Drug Abuse in the first quarter of this year, an 11 per cent drop on the 6,210 reported in the same quarter last year.
But the number of people abusing the so-called 'rave drug' Ecstasy and triazolam, both rose - Ecstasy from just seven in the first quarter of last year to 27 in the same period this year.
The number of registered triazolam abusers rose from 195 to 219 over the same period.
The registry says the number of drug abusers aged under 21 reported to it dropped 23 per cent from 1,033 last year to 794 in the first quarter of this year.
Heroin remains the main drug to be abused, with close to 90 per cent of registered addicts hooked on it, followed by cannabis and the designer drug 'ice'.
Critics say the registry figures fail to reflect the true extent of the drug situation because so many drug users are not registered.
Commissioner for Narcotics Clarie Lo Ku Ka-lee said: 'We are determined to sustain our efforts and take whatever measures necessary to prevent the public, especially youngsters, from taking drugs.
'This is specially important when there is a worldwide trend that, increasingly, drug abuse starts at a relatively tender age.'
