Few people have sought treatment for drug addiction at healthcare facilities, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as a local newspaper reported increased marijuana use among students.
Students can also apply for a subsidy to deal with addiction, the ministry added.
The Chinese-language United Daily News reported that according to Ministry of Education data, marijuana is the third-most commonly used drug by students, but its use rate has increased from 11.5 percent last year to 12.1 percent in the first half of this year.
Photo: Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
Marijuana trafficking and growing cases have also increased fourfold in the past four years, the news report said, adding that as the drug was decriminalized in Thailand last year, many young people travel there to try marijuana.
It also cited a 21-year-old college student saying that she started smoking marijuana when she was 17 and she often uses it with friends during gatherings, while she said that about half of her classmates also use marijuana.
The ministry’s Department of Mental and Oral Health said the marijuana use reports by healthcare facilities were 399 cases in 2018, 592 cases in 2019, 620 cases in 2020, 500 cases in 2021, 312 cases last year and 140 cases as of May this year.
Between 2018 and May, there were 13 cases involving people aged 18 or younger, the department said, adding that most of them were ordered to receive treatment for drug addiction, and very few of them sought it on their own.
Marijuana contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol, with THC the main psychoactive compound that causes hallucination and addiction, the department said, adding that marijuana can cause rapid heartbeat, paranoia, hallucinations, eye redness, a dry mouth and increased thirst; and its chronic use can affect cognitive abilities, such as learning and memory, negatively.
The ministry provides a subsidy to help people quit drug addiction — NT$40,000 per year for individuals under 18 years old, and NT$35,000 per year for adults — and those who need assistance can find a designated healthcare facility on the ministry’s Web site or call the local drug harm prevention center’s consultation hotline (0800-770-885), it said.
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