During the anniversary of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, its Vice president announced that Philippine stood fourth in Asia among the main sources of illegal drugs, while china is the top drug destination in the region. In terms of point of origin of illegal drugs in Asia, Malaysia tops the list with 24% followed by Macau, and Thailand. Nepal and Philippine stood at fourth position followed by Vietnam and other Asian countries.
This sounds some what alarming for Philippine’s government and the state is planning to adopt new national drug policy that will classify illegal drugs not only as a peace and order problem but also as a health issue. The authorities are much concerned about the public health now since the laws against manufacturers, pushers and users only could result in putting more people in jail but not necessarily cure addiction.
Observing the more advancements other countries are adopting, Philippine’s government decided to do more on this problem to prevent drug addiction. They are trying to increase the budget for rehabilitation and counseling and to conduct some anti drug campaign, which will make a positive turn and would draw the youth away from the consumption of any legal or illegal drugs.
This is a good initiative taken by the Philippine’s government, which shows its concern towards the public health. Hope these schemes and campaigns create more awareness among drug addicts about the dangers of abusing drugs and prevent them from its harmful effects.