KUWAIT: The General Secretariat of the Arab Federation for the Prevention of Drug Dr Khalid Al-Saleh said Monday that 35 million addicts around the world suffer from drugs use disorders. This came during a workshop organized by the General Secretariat, entitled "Obstacles and solutions for field studies of drugs in the State of Kuwait", attended by a number of experts and specialists from Kuwait. In a press statement, Dr Saleh, who chaired the workshop, said that "the United Nations statistics showed that drug misuse cases increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which drug abuse has spread using social media."

In Kuwait, about 75 percent of committed crimes are related directly to selling, using or promoting drugs, according to statistics issued by the Ministry of Interior, Saleh said. The situation is also worrying in the Arab countries, which are witnessing a significant increase in drug cases and an increase in their rate, he added. Saleh stressed on the importance of encouraging scientists and researchers in the region to collect and analyze data to help find solutions to overcome this problem.

The lack of research centers and specialized scientist in this filed, in addition to weakness of grants and financial support, are major obstacles to scientific research on drug misuse, he pointed out, stressing the need for having administrative institutions to attract research and scientist. "In spite of studies carried out by the General Administration for Drug Control in the field of reducing drug demand, we need more encouragement and financial support to address the scourge of drugs, which has become the biggest obstacle to human and societal development," Saleh explained. - KUNA