Experts shed light on evil effects of drugs at SPA, Nebras-sponsored event

RIYADH: Academics and drug control officials said Wednesday the Kingdom has managed to foil many attempts to smuggle drugs into the country.
Officials were addressing an event organized by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and the National Project for the Prevention of Narcotics (Nebras), an affiliate of the National Committee for Narcotics Control (NCNC), at the SPA Media Center.
The event was attended by more than 300 academics from the Kingdom’s universities, and experts from government and security agencies.
SPA President Abdullah bin Fahad Al-Husain said the media has become the sole source of forming collective awareness worldwide.
He said awareness has expanded with the diversity of new communication tools in communities, which had an enormous impact, notably among youths who found in these tools, particularity social media, a way to express their energies.
However, some media tools promote crimes through drug abuse in order to affect the minds of youths, he said.
Al-Husain said the SPA has supported national efforts aimed at protecting youths from falling into drug traps, and keeping them from being affected by false promises by criminals across social media networks.
He said the SPA has joined several national events organized by government agencies in different regions of the Kingdom through news coverage or exhibitions to highlight the risks of drugs.
Abdul-Ilah bin Mohammed Al-Sharif, assistant general director of the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) for Preventive Affairs and chairman of board of the Nebras, said the NCNC will offer SR200,000 ($53,335) for the best research studies by postgraduate students or members of Saudi universities’ staff on the harmful effects of drugs.
He said another SR100,000 was allocated for distinctive drug-related initiatives by Saudi universities.
Maj. Gen. Ahmed bin Saadi Al-Zahrani, director of the GDNC, said the Kingdom has witnessed a series of failed attempts to smuggle drugs into the country. He said the Kingdom has been targeted at various political, religious, economic and social levels.
He said the increased number of crimes, in the form of killings, thefts and murder of parents or relatives, is correlated with drug abuse. He pointed out that there are increased rates of drug abuse among youths, who are the most targeted by drug gangs.
The GDNC chief said his department has set up a chemical lab to carry out studies of drug substances, which have proved that drug cartels add chemicals to certain types of drugs to increase their harmful effects on the minds of addicts.
He said there is cooperation between drug control agencies in different regions of the Kingdom and universities to conduct lab tests on certain types of drugs, notably those that have recently emerged.