Fifty two percent increase in cannabis related arrests during 2010 compared to 2009: Present trends indicate an increase in the misuse of cannabis, the latest Handbook of Drug Abuse Information issued by the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board said. According to statistics of the handbook, there had been a 52 percent increase in cannabis related arrests during 2010 compared to 2009. Around 20,259 persons had been arrested for cannabis related offences in 2010 while this number was 13,300 in 2009. [continues 267 words]
If hard drugs are continuing to flow into Sri Lanka, the inescapable conclusion is that there is a considerable demand for them in this country. This is discomforting news but that is the harsh reality. The prisons are chockfull of those who have been convicted of drug-related offences and the news is that there has been no decrease in the rate of hard drugs-linked detections. In fact, we are given to understand that last year, 38 kilograms of heroin were seized and some 14,000 or more persons were arrested in connection with hard drugs related offences. [continues 658 words]
