The UN has warned that the Arab countries are threatened to be dumped by hashish. The age of the addicts in the Arab countries declined to 12 years old. In an official report yesterday, the UN said the narcotic pills have become the next threat to Egypt. In addition, large areas in Sinai are still planted with opium.
Mohammed Abdel Aziz, representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said the high rate of unemployment in the Arab States, 30% in some countries, is a cause of drug addiction among young people. Countries like Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, UAE and Saudi Arabia have become a prey for drugs smuggling gangs, as they have become a transit for the trade of heroin and cocaine.
In a press conference yesterday, Abdel Aziz said there is a lack of information and statistics on the numbers of addicts in the Arab States. He announced the launch of a 5-year initiative in collaboration with the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council to protect youth from drug. For his part, Director of the international Cooperation Department at the Anti-Narcotics General Administration Gamal Farouq, said the sedative pills that are used in some mental illness are the coming danger in the area of drug trafficking, especially as Egypt imports sedative pills from Europe.
The Ministry of the Interior is working to combat the cultivation of narcotic drugs in Egypt, especially in Sinai. The report said opium and poppy are still largely cultivated in Sinai Peninsula. The opium is not used in making heroin, but it is consumed locally.
The Ministry of the Interior is seeking to amend the law on pharmacists so that it can close the violating pharmacies, Farouq said, adding that the majority of the new drugs in the market are illegal pharmaceutical products, such as amphetamines. The UN report said the value of illegal medical drugs will reach LE175 million by 2010 and that some 30%-40% of pharmaceuticals are counterfeit.
