Full-court press against illegal drugs

The sports scene got another black eye when basketball players, including top PBA stalwarts Jun Limpot of Barangay Ginebra and Davonn Harp of Batang Red Bull tested positive of illegal drug use. The problem got media attention when in March 2003, players Asi Taulava and Dorian Peña both tested positive for marijuana use. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency should mete out stiffer penalties to the offenders (but I strongly suggest the allegedly "guilty" players get a second medical opinion) in accordance to Republic Act 9165 or Dangerous Drugs Act and not just a slap on the wrist, i.e. a two-day suspension from the games. The illegal drug problem in this country is getting worse by the minute, and now, even the realm of sports, which is supposed to get young people out of drugs, has become a victim of this appalling menace.

In fact, even the Olympics and other international games were not spared from this problem, but in this case, it’s steroids. The most famous in history was when Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, after winning the 100 meters at the 1998 Seoul Olympics, was stripped of his gold medal and given a lifetime ban on the track after being tested positive of anabolic steroids. Cuba’s celebrated high-jumper Javier Sotomayor tested positive of cocaine, a popular "recreational" but illegal drug among athletes because it somehow improves their physical performance. China’s name became synonymous with illegal drug use in swimming when seven Chinese swimmers fell from the games when they were caught with steroids in their bags. The international publication Sports Illustrated gave out a report pegging more than 20-percent of NHL players as users of Sudafed, a cold remedy used by some athletes as "uppers" to give them an aggressive edge over other competitors. Indeed, from professional swimmers to weightlifters, drug use has become very prevalent.

It is obvious that international athletes and Olympic players take anabolic steroids to boost their performance in the games. That’s probably done all over the world. What I can’t figure out with some Filipino athletes is that shabu and marijuana are not known to boost physical or even mental performance. Shabu may keep one awake for long hours, but it does not necessarily make one physically strong for sporting competition. In fact, shabu destroys the body’s capacity to be physically strong due to lack of sleep and intake of food. Marijuana is not an "upper" but a "downer." From what I gathered from sources, it even diminishes physical strength. Therefore my question is: why would athletes take shabu or marijuana? Obviously, it is not to get the gold.

According to the US State Department Country Report, the Philippines is a major producer and exporter of marijuana. Pulse Asia said 61-percent of Filipinos believe that drugs is the number one problem this country should address, with theft, robbery and kidnapping following close behind. A regular habit of using shabu could cost an addict about P1,000 to P2,000 a week, approximately $30 to $60. Wholesale cost of pure shabu is estimated at P800,000 to P1 million per kilogram, especially those coming from China. Over 68-percent of the Filipino youth has tried drugs in one form or the other. And that’s pretty high. What is more disturbing is that in a recent mandatory drug testing of members of a police precinct, more than 69-percent tested positive for drug use, mainly, shabu. The National Drug Law Enforcement and Prevention Center pegs the number of drug users in the country at half a million to a million. According to the Philippine National Police, shabu laboratories are sprouting everywhere, with black-market trade amounting to a very conservative estimate of P81.6 billion every year.

The PNP’s goal to rid the country of illegal drugs by 2010 is a good project to consider, but a very tall order. Schools and universities are now the target of drug lords, using students to sell packets of Ecstacy and Valium tablets. Rumor has it that some private homes in some areas are, in reality, shabu factories. We all know that marijuana plantations in the country are very hard to find because some them are scattered in mountainous areas up North in Ilocos and down in Mindanao. Needle use in drugs has increased the incidence of HIV infection among drug users, hence creating a worse problem. In 2000, the potential number of HIV sufferers who used "needled drugs" has reached 40,000. To top it all, drug money is being used to pay off powerful people to protect drug lords and pushers.

Aside from attending the recently much-sought-after function at the White House, I also did some work in Washington DC with our principals, mainly, to strategize on how we can get an additional US$140 million US grant to use in the fight against illegal drug trafficking and for the rehabilitation of drug users in the Philippines. They are confident this will be included in the 2004 US budget. The fight against terrorism may be on top of the agenda, but the drug situation is getting worse, and the United States is extremely concerned with the Philippines becoming a transshipment point to the US. Locally, in Cebu, there is currently a training program for police and other law enforcement groups that would handle HIV prevention and drug use. Recent studies have shown that on the average, more than 300 patients a year receive rehabilitation. But the problem of relapse is still very serious. Some say it’s 10-percent, others 90-percent of "rehabilitated" patients suffer from relapse. I know of middle-aged people who continue to use illegal drugs even up to this very day.

By the year 2012, the country’s population would balloon to a staggering 100 million, and the trade of illegal drugs would surely increase. Today it is the most lucrative "business." Former US Drug Enforcement Agency agent in the Philippines Jeff Wendling said to me once the drug problem in the country has become so serious that if we do not do anything drastic, the Philippines would go the way of Columbia in just a matter of a few years. Jeff actively fought the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country for almost 10 years. Many people know the drug problem is a major cause of heinous crimes committed by drug addicts. To drastically reverse the trend, we should use the formula of Prime Minister Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand – absolute zero tolerance for drug lords, and I mean zero, zilch, dead!

* * *

Email: [email protected]