Crystal meth - Hong Kong in denial over drug epidemic

Fifty years ago this month, a radical book about Hong Kong's deep-rooted drug problem was published by a young English academic. Under the Rug made front-page headlines and shook the colonial establishment from its entrenched complacency about drug abuse.

In his book, Dr Michael Whisson observed that Hong Kong had hopelessly inadequate rehabilitation facilities run by well-meaning but largely ineffectual voluntary groups, which he compared to religious orders. The city had been "nourished by the opium trade throughout its early years", he wrote, and "despite edicts and efforts, it has been unable to shake off its habit and probably consumes more opiates per head of population than any other country". Whisson concluded that "despite its statements of pious intent … the Hong Kong government has not given the elimination of the drug problem very high priority".

Half a century later, experts are alarmed about a new drug problem evolving in Hong Kong and there are disturbing parallels with the observations Whisson made.

The authorities in Beijing last month issued a stark warning about a 36 per cent increase per year in the abuse of modern synthetic drugs such as methamphetamines (more commonly known as crystal meth or Ice), ketamine and Ecstasy. The National Narcotics Control Commission estimates the total number of drug addicts on the mainland could exceed 14 million.

Guangdong province is competing with Mexico to be the world's principal methamphetamine production centre and seizures of Ice across the Asia-Pacific region almost quadrupled from 11 tonnes in 2008 to 42 tonnes in 2013. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime refers to an "unprecedented global expansion of the synthetic drugs market" and Hong Kong, dangerously close to its epicentre, is identified in a recent report from the UN body as a hub for syndicates smuggling this highly toxic and potentially destructive drug. Last week, Hong Kong customs chiefs described as "staggering" the 186 per cent increase year on year in the amount of drugs they have seized in the first five months of 2015.

Given these numerous warning signs, it is difficult to credit the latest figures issued by the Central Registry of Drug Abuse, which reveal that the total number of reported drug abusers in Hong Kong had actually decreased by 13 per cent last year (from 10,241 to 8,926) from 2013. Officially, then there are fewer than 9,000 drug abusers out of a largely urban population of 7.24 million and the most recent survey (from 2011/12) of drug use among youngsters reports "a remarkable drop in the prevalence of drug use among students across all education levels". In a widespread public consultation undertaken this year, only 43 per cent of respondents thought drug abuse was a serious problem in Hong Kong.