The trend among drug abusers is turning toward ingesting deadly drug cocktails that combine different chemical components, health authorities said on the eve of UN Anti-Drug Day.
"In the past, we found at most two or three types of drugs in the narcotics that we seized, but now the number of drugs being taken simultaneously is increasing quickly," said Li Jih-hen (李志恆), director-general of the health department's Bureau of Controlled Drugs.
Li said that cocktails consisting of more than eight drugs had recently been found.
"People mix the drugs themselves, so you could be taking amphetamine even while you think you're taking ecstasy. Most users just want to find a drug that is cheap and effective, but taking different drugs at the same time could increase the drugs' potency," said Tsai Wei-jen (蔡維禎), a doctor at Taipei Veterans General Hospital's Division of Clinical Toxicology and Nephrology.
The bureau also said that in recent years MDEA, a psychedelic drug similar to ecstasy, had begun to appear on the market.
"People probably started to use MDEA to avoid explicit drug-prohibition regulations. However, the chemical components of this drug are similar to those of MDMA and, as such, it is still an illegal drug," Tsai said.
According to the bureau, heroin and amphetamines remain the two most popular hard drugs in the country. However, Tsai said that while in the past most users smoked heroin, about 90 percent of users now choose to inject the drug.
"As a result, about 70 to 90 percent of drug abusers also have hepatitis B or C, not to mention the increased likelihood of them contracting AIDS," Tsai said.
troubling
Su Lien-wen (束連文), a doctor at the addiction science department at Taipei City Psychiatric Center, said that the new drug-taking patterns were troubling in light of the meager support that exists for rehabilitation.
"As more young people come into contact with drugs, the overall number of drug addicts will increase. There is a 10-year reaction time, but it will happen," Su said.
Su said a conservative estimate put the number of people who have experimented with drugs at 1 million. Anywhere between 200,000 and 400,000 people are estimated to be drug addicts.
"Heroin and amphetamines are still the two most commonly abused drugs in Taiwan. It began in the 1980s, when the drugs first became popular. Once you are addicted, you become a loyal customer for life," Su said.
Su was unhappy that although drugs are readily available among young people today, drug rehabilitation programs do not receive much public support.
According to Su, only about 10 hospitals offer drug rehabilitation treatment.
And while medical expenses incurred during treatment are not covered by the National Health Insurance, patients cost about NT$30,000 for each week they spend in hospital. Treatment costs another NT$50,000 to NT$60,000 per year.
"National Health Insurance does not cover the costs of medical treatment needed to overcome narcotics addiction because [the authorities] believe that drug abusers bring their problems upon themselves," Su said. "But we don't refuse to cover treatment costs for heart disease by blaming the patient for an unhealthy lifestyle."
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