Minister of Justice Morley Shih (
Shih told the legislature's Judiciary Committee that the ministry did not consider ketamine -- a common, class-three drug that is used for medical purposes -- addictive and would not compel users to undergo treatment.
He said that a large number of recreational ketamine users were teenagers. If the ministry were to stipulate that using ketamine is a criminal offense, many teenagers would be violating the law and have criminal records, which would impact on their studies and lives.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (
He urged the ministry to criminalize ketamine use to deter youths from taking class-three -- also called "minor" drugs.
The Narcotics Endangerment Prevention Act (
Under the law, those arrested for using class-one drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, or class-two drugs, such as amphetamines and marijuana, must undergo treatment at a drug rehabilitation center for up to one month.
Those who are seriously addicted and fail a test after one month must undergo further treatment, lasting up to one year.
In other developments, Shih told the committee that investigation officers had used wiretapping in 24,700 cases in the first nine months of this year.
The cases, 70 percent of which involved drug-related criminal activities, include those handled by the Coast Guard Administration, the Bureau of Investigation, the National Police Agency and prosecutors, he said.
He made the remarks when he was asked to comment on a claim by a political commentator on a TV talk show that 4 million people are currently being wiretapped by the authorities.
Shih said he had no idea where the commentator got his figure from, but he pointed out that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office has established a complete monitoring mechanism to prevent the authorities from abusing their authority to wiretap.
Additional reporting by CNA
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