Turkey’s drug problem reaches epidemic proportions

Officials and experts in Turkey warn that the country’s drug addiction crisis has reached epidemic proportions, despite a nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking. They noted that the age at which drug use starts has dropped dramatically, and that suitable programs for treating drug addicts are lacking.

Ulkumen Rodoplu, the founding president of the Emergency Medicine Association of Turkey, said that first drug usage in the country has dropped to the age of nine.

Despite strict anti-drug laws and intensive police enforcement, abuse of synthetic drugs has steadily increased among low-income Turkish young people, even in conservative areas of large cities.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, Recep Akdag, highlighted the problem last week. He noted that drug seizures in Turkey are now greater than those in Europe and that the drug traffic from Afghanistan and Iran usually goes through his country.

Akdag said that authorities arrested 47,213 people for drug-related crimes, including 232 foreigners. He added that an additional drug-trafficking route has been targeting Turkey. The route begins in the Netherlands and runs through Belgium, Austria, and Poland. Akdag called for authorities in those countries to step up efforts to curtail drug-running activities in Europe.

The principal drug that is flooding Turkey from that route is an inexpensive, synthetic drug called bonzai (known as “Spice” in the UK and USA) which is affecting many young people in the country.

Akdag also said that anti-drug police actions have resulted in seizing 5,778,593 of illegal drug pills, including amphetamine, ecstasy, and other prescription drugs.