71% more cannabis users arrested in 2022, over half aged under 30 and some just 14: CNB
SINGAPORE — The number of cannabis users arrested in Singapore shot up 71 per cent in 2022, said an annual drug statistics report released by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) on Wednesday (Feb 15).
More than three in five of those arrested were aged under 30, with some as young as 14, and seven in 10 were new users of the illicit drug.
CNB director Sam Tee said: “The rise of cannabis abuse in Singapore is a major concern.
"Despite the harms of cannabis being well-evidenced by the medical community, including its potential for addiction, they do not think cannabis is harmful,” he added in a statement.
The rise of cannabis abuse in Singapore is a major concern. Despite the harms of cannabis being well-evidenced by the medical community, including its potential for addiction, they do not think cannabis is harmful.
Mr Tee noted the recent legalisation of cannabis in Thailand, adding that recent surveys here had showed that "fuelled in part by the 'normalising' of abuse of cannabis in other parts of the world, a growing proportion of our youths may hold more permissive views on drugs".
Still, the number of cannabis users arrested in 2022, at 236 and up from 138 a year earlier, was still far lower than the number of arrests of users of methamphetamine, also known as "ice", at 1,145 and arrests of users of heroin at 986, the figures showed.
Out of the 236 users arrested, about 61 per cent were below the age of 30.
First-time users of cannabis also jumped 71 per cent to 168 in 2022 from 98 in 2021, CNB said.
Among those aged under 20, the number of cannabis users arrested more than trebled from eight in 2021 to 26 in 2022, forming about 22 per cent of total youths arrested in 2022.
Cannabis, the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, also saw an increase in seizures, which went up by 24 per cent from 107.08kg in 2021 to 133.25kg in 2022, according to the report.
LOCAL DRUG SITUATION
The overall number of drug users arrested here last year rose 3 per cent from 2,729 in 2021 to 2,812 in 2022. Among this number, repeat abusers arrested went up by 12 per cent to 2,015 in 2022, from 1,793 in 2021.
Besides cannabis, methamphetamine and heroin form the top three most commonly abused drugs in 2022, with 95 per cent of drug abusers arrested abusing at least one of these drugs.
For new drug abusers, methamphetamine, cannabis and "ecstacy" were more commonly abused.
Of the 2,812 drug abusers arrested in 2022, 584 users (21 per cent) used more than one type of drug.
Methamphetamine users were the largest proportion of all new drug users at 497, but that represented a 30 per cent fall from the 707 new users arrested in 2021.
In total, drugs seized by CNB in 2022 were estimated to have a street value of about S$14.04 million.
While cannabis seizures saw an increase, seizures for heroin and crystalline methamphetamine decreased by 30 per cent and 46 per cent respectively.
Chinese, Malay and Indian drug abusers arrested increased in 2022, but remained similar to the proportions reported last year. New abusers for all racial groups decreased, in line with the overall decrease in new abusers in 2022.
The number of inhalant users arrested in 2022 remained at 25, the same level as 2021, with users aged 50 to 59 forming the largest group at 36 per cent.
MEASURES TO ENGAGE AND EDUCATE YOUTHS
To tackle the issue of rising number of youths involved with drugs, various preventive drug education initiatives are conducted to highlight the harm caused by drugs and to help youths make informed choices in embracing a drug-free lifestyle, said CNB.
Such initiatives include activities with schools such as the DrugFreeSG video competition and inclusion of drug education messages in the Ministry of Education's school syllabus as well as collaborations with youths through social media campaigns.
Dr Chew Tuan Chiong, vice chairman of National Council Against Drug Abuse, emphasised the role which parents may play to help in educating their children in preventive drug education.
“Those of us who are parents may want to reflect on our perspective (with) regards (to) drug use, because apathy or permissiveness towards drugs does not line up with reality, nor our aspirations for our children,” he said.
“I encourage young parents especially to find opportunities to ascertain how your children think about drugs, and to have a meaningful conversation with them on why we cannot let our guard down,” he added.
