The Medical Center for Youth Research at King Saud University has signed a contract for the Dr. Nasser Al-Rasheed Drug Protection Program to conduct a nationwide study on drug addiction. According to Mufrij Al-Haqbani, Secretary General of the National Anti-Drug Abuse Committee, the study will be carried out with the collaboration of the Ministry of Health and give a thorough assessment of drug abuse in the Kingdom. “It will be an in-depth study to reveal the extent and reasons for drug abuse in the country, and will take three years to complete,” Al-Haqbani said. “It will look into the danger factors drug abuse presents to young men and women and the factors that lead teenagers and persons who have been arrested for drug use into using them.” Saeed Al-Suraihi, who will lead the research team, said the project would look at a range of underlying issues. “We hope to reveal through the study the social, health, psychological and economic variables involved in turning to and continuing to use drugs,” Al-Suraihi said. The Kafa Society for Awareness for the Dangers of Smoking and Drug Abuse, meanwhile, has said that a lack of beds at Al-Amal Hospital in Jeddah has left many drug addicts being treated at home. Kafa head in Makkah Abdullah Sarouji, speaking on the occasion of World Anti-Drugs Day, said that the hospital, the only one dedicated to treatment for drug addiction, was “no longer capable of coping with the numbers of addicts”. “There is also no section for women, which only increases the burden on families,” Sarouji said. “We need to open specialized hospitals in the east and south of Jeddah to meet the rising number of addicts and alleviate the pressure on Al-Amal Hospital.” The same day, the head of Saudi Customs Saleh Al-Khulaiwi announced that 32 new vehicle scanning systems would be installed by the end of the year at entrance points as part of efforts to prevent drugs and other prohibited items from entering the Kingdom. Officials are already equipped with 51 devices to scan containers, trucks and buses, while the 16 of the new systems would tackle smaller passenger cars. “We are constantly developing our work to combat drug smuggling and the smuggling of other illegal materials,” Al-Khulaiwi. “We supply border crossing points with all requirements in terms of qualified personnel and advanced examination devices. Customs has also increased its use of trained sniffer dogs that have played an important part in uncovering attempts to smuggle in drugs in the past few years.” Al-Khulaiwi said the Customs Department was also involved in warning of the dangers of drug use and urging the public to help in combating it. “Customs seeks to strengthen cooperation and joint work with other authorities working to combat drugs, especially in areas of information exchange and coordination of efforts,” he said. “The figures we released for the amount of drugs recovered in seizures last year is testament to the work we are doing.”
