RIYADH: The Drug Combating Department in association with the General Directorate of Education launched yesterday a series of workshops for female student advisers in the Kingdom’s high schools.
The workshops — entitled “Protecting Them is Our Responsibility” — will be carried out for two weeks and are aimed at highlighting the role student advisers can play in combating drugs. The workshops will introduce participants to the various types of drugs and their effects, how to detect signs of drug abuse and addiction, and how to tackle them.
Hana’a Al-Freeh, program coordinator, said the workshops have taken place at the secondary and elementary level for the last three years. She added that the high school age group is important and that signs of behavior disorders should not go unnoticed.
During 2008, the Drug Combating Department was able to confiscate 28 million Captagon tablets, a popular drug among students. Saudi official records show that users spend over 60 percent of their income on drugs, which increases to 90 percent when they become compulsive addicts.
According to a study by Abdul Rahman Al-Qurashi, a microbiologist at King Faisal Medical College, drug abuse is predominant among the younger generation due to unemployment, spare time, social and family detachment, and easy access to cash. In his study, Al-Qurashi noted that in 1989 there were 338 crimes relating to drugs, while in 2001 there were 16,325 — a 48-fold increase in just over a decade.
“All efforts must be put together through various means and programs to put an end to the drugs problem,” said Amal Khashogji, director of the Women’s Education Affairs Department. She added that providing student advisers with the means to detect drug abuse is important.
Forty-five student advisers will be attending the workshops for the coming two weeks. The advisers will also be provided guidance in how to deal with teenage problems and the importance of gaining students’ trust to protect them.
