The Al-Sam Association which combats drug abuse has launched a national campaign to educate the public to the problem. This follows a survey by the group which showed that between 10,000-20,000 adults in Israel use drugs regularly and about 10 percent of youths, between ages 14-18, use drugs at least once.
According to Amos Prushman, chairman of Al-Sam, even one-time use is cause for concern because a small percentage of the young population will be induced to more frequent consumption of drugs.
The Tel Aviv municipality’s youth division recently conducted its own survey among 800 young residents of impoverished neighborhoods. It found 21 percent used drugs or come from families of drug addicts.
Public alarm was aroused last week when customs inspectors at Ben Gurion Airport caught a person smuggling crack, a cheap derivative of cocaine, into the country for the first time.
Al-Sam, which concentrates on preventing addiction in the 14-18 age group, can no longer work on a voluntary basis but needs government support, according to its national director, Levana Zamir. Zamir suggested the creation of a ministerial committee headed by the Prime Minister to cope with the problem.
An inter-ministerial committee recently recommended establishment of a national authority to combat drug usage. But that triggered a debate over who would run the authority and with what budget. So far the recommendation has not been implemented.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
