OFFICIALS URGE STEP-UP IN MEASURES TO PREVENT DRUG ABUSE

Urgent measures are needed to combat the rise in drug abuse and
related HIV infections, government officials said yesterday. They said
that drug-use prevention measures should start in the schools, to
target youth at an early age.

According to Wang Guo-Long, deputy director of the department of
military training education in the Ministry of Education (MOE), the
amount of drugs discovered by criminal investigative bodies this year
was 12,728kg, compared to 8,597kg last year and 8,428kg in 2003,
showing the growing seriousness of the problem.

Drug abuse can lead to HIV infection, with statistics from the
Department of Health showing that of the 2,849 cases of HIV infection
reported in Taiwan this year, 64 percent were due to drug use.

In a bid to deal with the nation's growing drug problem, governmental
policies include a "2005-2008 nationwide anti-drug campaign period."

"Drug abuse is a very serious problem which has ... made its way into
our homes and schools," said People First Party (PFP) Legislator Lin
Cheng-er (???).

According to Wang, 1,951 students were found with drugs this year,
including students as young as primary-school age. Lin said that the
first step in combatting the problem was to educate students about
drugs and addiction.

"We have made progress in this area, with statistics showing that in
908 schools, 86.1 percent of students this year knew about the dangers
of drug abuse compared with 78.8 percent in 2004," Lin said.

Lin suggested screening students for drug use and helping students
seek rehabilitative services in those cases where students become addicted.

To prevent the spread of HIV infection because of the use of dirty
needles, the government also announced initiatives to provide 10
million clean needles for intravenous drug users at public-health
establishments across four cities and counties in Taiwan.

In an effort to help the government combat drug abuse, the Indigenous
Development and Investment Association, a nonprofit organization, with
the help of technological companies are donating 50,0000 doses of drug
diagnosis kits to the MOE.