Cocaine overtakes cannabis as drug of choice among young Hong Kong substance abusers
- Higher supply, lower prices helped cocaine gain popularity as city dropped Covid-19 restrictions in 2023
- Half of known abusers under 21 and most of 3,406 people arrested for drugs last year used cocaine
Cocaine replaced cannabis as the drug of choice among young substance abusers in Hong Kong last year, according to the Action Committee Against Narcotics, with an expert warning about the prevalence of hidden sufferers in the community.
Michael Leung Siu-kei, the unit in charge of the Youth Crime Prevention Centre under the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Group, said the reality of the scale of the drug abuse problem among youngsters might not be reflected in official numbers.
“The drug problem among Hong Kong’s youth cannot be ignored, as there are still some hidden drug-using individuals who have not been identified, so cross-sector cooperation and efforts are still necessary to provide appropriate support to the youth in need,” he said.
In a report released on Wednesday last week, the government advisory body said the number of reported drug abusers under the age of 21 fell from 744 in 2022 to 659 last year. More than half of them abused cocaine, followed by cannabis and ketamine, known locally as K or K-jai.
Overall, the total number of reported drug abusers of all ages rose from 5,363 in 2022 to 5,500 last year, with heroin the most commonly used, followed by cocaine and methamphetamine, commonly known as Ice.
Most of the 3,406 drug arrests last year were for offences related to cocaine.
Highlighting the dangers, the committee said in its report: “Cocaine abuse will not only cause physical and mental harm, but will also cost abusers their life savings, and burden them with enormous debts since they cannot get rid of the addiction to the drug.”