Police mount anti-drug campaign against teenagers

Hundreds of teens across Haifa have been questioned by police in a campaign to uncover the use and sale of drugs among minors.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY
Hundreds of teenagers across Haifa have been questioned by police in recent months in a campaign to uncover the use and sale of "soft" drugs among minors, reports Yediot Haifa. Most of the teenagers questioned admitted having used drugs such as marijuana, despite having come from "good" homes and neighborhoods and not having any criminal record. A number of teens were arrested when marijuana plants or hashish were found in their homes. According to the report, police kept the campaign secret until two weeks ago. Beginning in September, they questioned hundreds of youths suspected of having used or sold so-called "soft" drugs, including a number of ultra-Orthodox teens. Most admitted to having used drugs, and some admitted that they had conducted drug deals through the internet's ICQ message system. Police say they have opened 94 criminal files so far in the campaign, 58 of them for possession and use of drugs, and the remainder for trafficking. They said more arrests can be expected. A senior police official said the use of drugs among youths had become "routine." "We are speaking about a fundamental problem that obligates us to raise public discussion on this use of drugs, which is being done under the noses of parents, in homes, in public gardens, in schools and in every possible place," the official said. He added that the fact that most of the youths came from good homes meant that parents had to take greater responsibility, including supervising their children's time on the internet.