H-Net* 180 students in Perlis hooked on glue

[Concorde]

Wednesday, November 3, 1999 180 students in Perlis hooked on glue KANGAR: Police have identified about 180 students in Perlis who are addicted to glue-sniffing with some hooked so long that they have forgotten their classes they are in and the names of their teachers. State Anti-Narcotics Department chief Deputy Supt Abdul Manaf Abdul Razak said parents and the state Education Department were aware of the problem. "We have advised the parents of the problem afflicting their children so that they can take steps to overcome it," he told a press conference at the state police headquarters here yesterday. He said that police had also talked to the principals of the schools where the glue-sniffing students were discovered. DSP Abdul Manaf said that most of the drug addicts were those who were truants, smoked and were petty gamblers and thieves. He said the lack of parental attention was the main cause of the drug addiction. He suggested schools introduce useful activities keep to students occupied and keep them away from unhealthy pursuits. Overall, the number of students taking drugs in the state was small, he added. He said that only a small proportion of 150 students arrested between January and October were drug users. On Oct 28, he said police found a match box containing a 2.54cm long ganja plant on a 15-year-old school boy in Berseri near here. On Oct 30, he said that a 17-year-old student was detained at Bukit Lagi here with 13 pychotropic pills.