Drug control needs more than arrest targets

KELANTAN’S police chief has proposed a drug control strategy in which police stations in the state have to make at least one drug-related arrest daily. This was ostensibly introduced following a decline in drug-related arrest figures in the state.

Arguably, however, the decades-long war on drugs, launched in the 1950s, has yielded only limited success. This is reflected in the recent increase in drug-related arrests, drug seizures, and trafficking offences across the country.