6.7 million Filipinos use prohibited drugs

The number of drug users in the Philippines has gone down, but the use of solvent, more popularly known as "rugby," a chemical often used as adhesive, is now the third major drug problem in the country. In the weekly forum Kapihan sa Sulu in Quezon City, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) undersecretary Dionisio Santiago on Saturday said the number of occasional and regular drug users is now down to 6.7 million (as of a 2004 survey of the Dangerous Drugs Board) from some 10 million drug dependents recorded in 1999. Santiago, a former Armed Forces chief of staff, said there is inaccuracy in the figure since it includes those that are using rugby. “Rugby is not a prohibited or regulated drug so we cannot apprehend those using it," he explained. Shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride remains the number one prohibited drug used in the country, followed by marijuana. Inhalant, where rugby is classified, is the third, and then followed by ecstacy, “a high-end drug," Santiago revealed. Santiago said the PDEA is now fixing problems in procedure to increase the agency’s conviction rating. Most solvent users are young people from urban poor areas, Santiago noted.GMANEWS.TV