Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Visitors welcomed with Eid initiative at Thee Ain Heritage Village in Al-Baha    Over 1 million pilgrims benefit from golf cart service at Grand Mosque during Ramadan    Saudi Arabia considers rent cap as part of major real estate reforms    Tebuk emir reviews rain response in Tayma    Messi's bodyguard banned from touchline at Inter Miami games    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Death toll from Myanmar earthquake rises to 2,719 as rescue efforts continue    Russia, Ukraine trade blame over new energy strikes    Putin orders Russia's largest military call-up in over a decade    Le Pen vows to appeal political ban, calls verdict a 'denial of democracy'    Haramain High-Speed Railway transports over 1.2 million passengers during Ramadan    Albania hosts MWL chief for Eid sermon at largest mosque in the Balkans    Ministry of Education forms 425 community partnerships with SR653 million impact    Saudi Transport Authority says passengers can ride for free if taxi meters are off    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    T1 CEO confirms Gumayusi's return for LCK Spring after lineup shakeup    100 Thieves claim Marvel Rivals Invitational NA crown as 2025 scene heats up    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Crystal meth and crowded jails: Basra problems mount
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 09 - 04 - 2019

BASRA — The southern Iraqi city of Basra is struggling to cope with a growing drug problem that has overcrowded prisons and strained police resources, only months after violent protests over poor municipal services.
Basra's prison system is clogged up and creaking. On a recent day in one police station, Reuters reporters saw about 150 men, their heads shaved, squatting in two small, cramped holding cells.
Arrests of drug users and dealers have shot up in the past year, further stretching prison services and police in a sign that the problems with municipal resources that prompted protests in Basra last summer have not gone away.
"Drugs spread because the youth are lost, they have no money, they are sick of life. It's escapism," Major Shaker Aziz, a senior member of Basra police narcotics unit, told Reuters.
"Prison authorities tell us: 'Ninety percent of inmates are convicted on drug charges, stop sending them.' So we keep them here," Aziz said of the holding cells.
The situation in prisons, worsened by a lack of treatment centres for recovering addicts, highlights the contrast between the wealth Basra province produces — its oil contributes over 90 percent of state revenues — and its poor living conditions.
Once known as the Venice of the East, Basra city, which has a population of 4 million, lacks clean water and does not have enough electricity to power air-conditioners in the scorching summer heat. Unemployment is widespread, especially among youth. Thousands protested against the conditions, unemployment and corruption last summer, when searing heat made matters worse and hundreds were treated in hospital after drinking unclean water. Protesters set ablaze government buildings and political groups' headquarters, and clashed with police.
Officials fear a repeat of the violence this year, and while the drug problem is a concern in several areas of Iraq, Basra suffers from it the most.
Steady rise
Basra is struggling even though Iraq declared victory in the four-year war against Daesh (the so-called IS) in 2017, and the city never fell to the militant group.
The number of drug arrests has risen year-on-year since 2015, Aziz said. By March, police had picked up 15 kg of illegal drugs this year, half of 2018's entire haul. Some 50 to 60 people are arrested each week on drugs-related offenses, compared to more than 1,000 all last year, he said.
Methamphetamine, known popularly as crystal meth, is the most widespread drug, said a police spokesman, Col. Bassem Ghanem. Opium, cannabis and pill abuse are also common.
Basra's police department says 97 percent of drug users arrested in 2018 were unemployed, and more than two thirds were 25 or younger.
All the drugs come from abroad, said Col. Ismail Al-Maliki, who heads the Basra police narcotics unit.
Basra Police Chief Rashid Fleih said in November that 80 percent of drugs entering the city come from Iran. Tehran denied this but officials still point the finger indirectly at Iran, using euphemisms such as "neighboring countries".
Preventing drug trafficking is a serious challenge for Iran which borders Afghanistan, the world's largest opium producer, and Pakistan, a major transit country for drugs.
Iraq once had the death penalty for users and dealers but passed new legislation in 2017 under which judges can order rehabilitation for users or sentence them to jail for up to three years. In the absence of rehab centers, they are jailed. Under the new law, the health ministry was given two years to provide rehab centers.
Local health officials pledged to reopen and upgrade a 44-bed rehabilitation center this month but the police say 44 beds is not enough.
"All of Basra's oil and we can't afford rehab?" said Aziz.
Asked about the situation, the state-owned Basra Oil Company said it has pledged $5 million for a rehab center.
'Smoking for free'
Inside a training complex on the edge of Basra province, police have re-purposed a building as a makeshift rehab center for users nearing release.
About 40 men live in comparatively comfortable conditions, sleeping six per room with access to television, a gym and books. Clerics, officers and teachers lecture on the sinfulness and dangers of drug use.
Experts say recovering users need treatment and rehabilitation when they first stop using, not toward the end of sentences. Prisoners say they suffer the worst withdrawal symptoms during the first 20 days, unable to eat or sleep.
"This is just a model, to get the health ministry to build real centres," said Ghanem, the spokesman.
Once known as the Venice of the East, Basra city, which has a population of 4 million, lacks clean water and does not have enough electricity to power air-conditioners in the scorching summer heat. Unemployment is widespread, especially among youth. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.