The number of people under age 21 in Hong Kong using drugs has spiked by 57 percent in the last four years. Experts are extremely concerned about the trend, particularly because the drug of choice among Hong Kong youth is Ketamine.
Ketamine is an animal tranquilizer that, with prolonged use, can impair cognitive functioning and damage internal organs. Ketamine is cheaper that most other narcotics and widely available in Hong Kong, which makes it attractive to young people. One gram of Ketamine sells for about $13 and is enough for three people to use; cocaine, in contrast, sells for about $103 per gram. Ketamine is legal in Hong Kong for medical use, but is trafficked into Hong Kong for illegal sale and use from other parts of Asia, including mainland China and India.
Alman Chan, principal of Hong Kong's only drug rehab school for youth, the privately-run Christian Zheng Sheng School, commented on how he has observed the growth of drug use among youth. "Just look at our school development. I was here 14 years ago. At that time, I was the only teacher. I had 18 kids. I only had one student who was 15 ... now, I have one third -- about 40 of them -- who are 15 years old or younger. That shows you the number of students getting into drugs is bigger and also getting younger and younger."
(Sources: CNN.com)
Labels: Hong Kong, Ketamine, Youth, Animal Tranquilizer
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