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Community vigilance can save schoolchildren from drug predators
Arresting drug dealers alone is not enough to prevent schoolchildren from falling prey to narcotic drugs as equal emphasis needs to be placed on creating awareness on the dangers of drugs and maintaining vigilance, officials say. They expressed this view as the Government which is spearheading an ambitious “National Drugs Prevention Programme” foucsed its attention on attempts by drug dealers to target schoolchildren. The Programme, which comes under the direction of the President, seeks to make Sri Lanka a country without drug addicts. Earlier this month, Ragama police arrested five suspects and seized 18 kilograms of Kerala Ganja. It was revealed that their network headed by a businessman operating from India was responsible for the growing drug menace in Ragama.
The arrests are the latest in the series of drug-related arrests made in the Ragama police division. Religious leaders and education authorities in the area have voiced concerns over reports that some drug dealers are now targeting schoolchildren within school premises. Fr. Neville Bernard, Principal of Basilica Vidyalaya, Ragama, said students appeared to be the primary target of drug dealers. Although there was no evidence to indicate hard drugs such as heroine were being sold to students, they were being introduced to Kerala ganja and mild narcotic substances, he said. The priest said they had found small amounts drugs hidden in some students’ pencil cases, shoes or even undergarments. The Catholic Church will hold a protest march to highlight the gravity of the problem in the Ragama area.
The protest march will begin at 8 am from the St. Peter and Paul Church in Ragama on July 30 and end with a public meeting at Ragama Basilica Vidyalaya. Fr. Bernard said Buddhist monks and religious leaders from other faiths would also attend the protest rally. The “Handbook of Drug Abuse Information in Sri Lanka – 2015” released by the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB), says that only 41 children between 15-18 years had been taken into custody in 2013 for cannabis-related offences. No one below 15 had been arrested for possessing cannabis in that year. These figures contrast sharply with 2012 figures which said 12 children under the age of 15 had been arrested for possessing cannabis while 258 children in 15-18 age group had been taken into custody for cannabis-related offences.
The handbook also gives statistics of children and youth referred to treatment centres to overcome their drug addiction. Accordingly, 20 children who were below 14 and 85 young people in the age group of 15-19 were treated for addiction in 2014. The data indicate a rise from 2013 figures, according to which only six persons in the below 14 age group and 50 young people in the 15-19 age group sought treatment. The statistics do not identify the drugs they were addicted to. NDDCB Director General K. Gamage said they found no evidence to say that drug addiction among schoolchildren was on the increase. “On the contrary, drug consumption among schoolchildren in Sri Lanka is still rather low,” he said, adding that this was because family bonds in Sri Lankan society were still extremely strong.
But this was no reason for complacency, he said. “Continued awareness programmes are needed to educate both schoolchildren and authorities on the drug menace. For example, this week, the NDDCB held a workshop for school principals to educate them on the drug menace,” he said.
Commenting on the drug menace in Ragama, the area’s Chief Inspector W.M.J.S. Gunasekara. said no campaign to eradicate the drug menace would succeed unless a concerted effort is made by all arms of the Government, community leaders and others. The Inspector lamented that they were doing their best but pleas to the authorities had fallen on deaf ears.
“Some high ranking drug dealers have been arrested in this area. We have asked officials, Grama Niladharis and Civil Defence Committee members to be vigilant regarding outsiders if their behaviour raises suspicion. Unfortunately, I don’t think we are being taken seriously by some.”
Inspector Gunasekara said doctors, psychiatrists and teachers should play a key role in educating school students on the dangers of consuming drugs. Even officials from the Prisons Department can help to educate on certain aspects of the drug problem, he said. “Ultimately, this fight has to be community driven. Otherwise, there will only be limited success,” the OIC said.