KUALA BERANG: People aged between 31 and 59 recorded the highest number of drug abuse cases in the country, with 92,590 – or 71.1% – recorded between January and June this year, says National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh.
He said the 15 to 30 age group recorded 34,471 people, or 26.5%, during the same period, while the 60 and above age group recorded 3,229 people, or 2.5%.
“AADK records also show that there are individuals aged up to 63 involved in drug abuse.
“For the age group of 15 to 30, a total of 34,471 people, or 26.5%, were recorded up to June this year compared with 37,494 people, or 27.8%, last year.
“The group under 14 years old recorded 17 individuals this year compared with 14 last year,” he said after the handover ceremony of the Hulu Terengganu AADK office renovation project in Ajil here yesterday.
Ruslin said for the 60 and above age group, the number of drug abuse cases decreased to 3,229 people, or 2.5%, this year compared with 4,311 people, or 3.2%, last year.
He said the majority of drug abuse cases among the age groups of 31 to 59 and 15 to 30 involved synthetic drugs, particularly in the East Coast states.
Ruslin said that AADK welcomed the cooperation of private companies to discuss measures to address the issue of drug abuse among employees through the Drug-Free Workplace Programme.
AADK, together with enforcement agencies including the police, did not differentiate between professionals and non-professionals in drug abuse cases because any individual is at risk of being exposed to such problems, he said, Bernama reported.
Among the proposals to be discussed is the implementation of periodic or random urine tests as a screening measure.
Ruslin also said a purchase and renovation project, worth RM3.46mil, of the Hulu Terengganu district AADK office was now fully completed, thus providing more complete facilities to strengthen operations and service delivery to the community.
He said the AADK purchased four shop units in 2022 before renovation work was carried out to convert them into the agency’s district office in Hulu Terengganu.
“Among the facilities provided are male and female lock-ups, examination rooms, briefing rooms, consultation rooms and urine screening rooms.
“Previously, the Hulu Terengganu district did not have separate lock-up facilities for men and women.
“If there were arrests involving women, they needed to be sent to another location,” he said.
