"Drugs War in Yemen" 2-4 By: Investigative Journalism Department

SANA'A, March, 31(Saba)-Drugs, which are very expensive, are not the
only types admired by addicted people. There are some poor people in
Yemen addicted to cheep medicines categorized as "psychotropic
substances ".

Yemeni law does not differentiate between Heroin, Hashish or
Captagon which are considered the most famous names of drugs in the
world and Diazepam, Restyle, Pluton and Valum which are sold in
pharmacies as narcotic medication.

Addicted to Medicines

Psychotropic substances, controlled internationally, are used as
medical sedatives and hypnotics for making the patient calm. They
are included in the UN Psychotropic Substances Convention 1971. They
are 12 types. Among of these types is Diazepam, which is spread
among young addicted who take it with Qat. The other mentioned types
are used inside prisons.

Addicted people to this kind of drugs say their problem is difficult
and unsolvable. Their sufferings are complicated and feel depressed.

"I was an ordinary employee in governmental body. Over years, I have
been promoted to higher post with great income. I joined a group of
male and female youth who told me to use Diazepam to overcome work's
pressure," said (A,J) who is being treated by a psychologist.

"Day after day, I became consuming many quantities of Diazepam
which has become useless. Because my situation improved to intense
depression, I turned to psychologist who advised me to travel abroad
for better treatment," he added.

Another person (owner of barbershop) says:" One of my relatives,
from Ebb governorate, used to have a grocery in one housing quarters
in Aden. The grocery was the source of his livings. One day, he
acquainted with a group of youth called addicted to medicine."

"He complained to them he could not sleep. They gave him drug
tablets to take them with Qat," he added.

"Day after day, he became like a madman looking for his friends. He
used to close the grocery most of the time. He was no longer taking
care of his family. He sold everything he had and left his family to
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but died in the road," he narrated.

Killers addicted

M,A, owner of pharmacy in the Capital Sana'a fears of meeting the
same fate of his colleague who was killed by gang of addicted
people.

"A young man used to come to me to take a syringe administrated to
patients of psychological disturbances. Then he used to come
accompanied by others with great sum of money. One time, when I
refused to give them the injection, they threatened to kill me and
tried hit me," said the pharmacy's owner.

"There was a foreigner working in remote governorate. He used to
leave his work to come to Sana'a every week to have the injection.
When my friend refused to give some of the addicted the tablets they
used to buy, they killed him," he added.

He hopes that the security apparatus are to be strengthened to
inform them on the group. He says "I fear inform about them and then
killed by the gang".

Some of pharmacists, who refuse selling the narcotic medicine to
their customers, say they are exposed to continuous threats. Some
addicts do not save any mean to get the narcotic. They bring
psychologically ill people with them to the pharmacy to get the
narcotic.

Despite the ministry of health says that this kind of drugs is
controlled but, I was able to buy some types of them such as
(Diazepam, Restyle and Valum). There are 15 out of 20 pharmacists
whom I met refused strongly to sell me narcotic substances and
required prescription.

Some of them said they are banned and some others looked at me
scornfully. But many of them guided me to some pharmacies they said
"their owners are known and have supporters protecting them. They
sell the drugs with knowledge of the ministry."

Some pharmacies accuse physicians of giving prescriptions to
addicted people not patients. Some say that many drugs are soled in
rural areas and used with Qat.

Exploitation and misuse

When Jiblah Hospital imported a quantity of psychotropic substances,
the ministry of public health and population did no thing but
writing violation. "There was connivance while submitting the drug
to the hospital. When we discovered quantities of the substances
have been sold out of the hospital, we referred the issue to the
prosecution," said officials in the ministry.

Dr. Taher al-Maqaleh a member of the Supreme Medicines Authority in
health ministry says " the control role on psychotropic substances
was absent in the past because of unawareness of random use of
drugs. Because import was limited, concerned officials did not pay
very attention to the issue."He added, now hospitals and pharmacies
have become many and thus controlling measures have become necessary.

He said that a group of youth has become addicted to drugs
administrated to psychologically ill people and they used to take
them with Qat. There is great number of school and university
students have become addicted to these drugs.

"A field survey on importing drugs showed quantities of
psychotropic substances have been misused and are administrated to
persons have become addicts to them, " he said. These kinds of
medicines, he reiterated, are not administrated only to
psychologically ill persons and because they have become familiar to
youth we hastened to limit importing these substances.

He affirmed that wholesalers mistreated distributing the narcotic
drugs in the past and for this "we issued our directives to ban
selling medicines to wholesalers to ensure the medicine goes
directly from the importers or local producers to hospitals and
pharmacies."

Our strict measures have reduced the size of the problem, for
example, in 2006, 9000 grams of prazolam (dangerous raw material)
have been imported and the quantity have been reduced to half in
2007. We imported the best alternative.

The quantity of the Diazepam arrived in the country in 2006 was
54000 grams and the quantity have been reduced in 2008 to 8584
grams. Al-Maqaleh states that the law of drugs and psychotropic
substances for 2003 organizes importing these substances.

Concerning penalties against traffickers of these substances, he
says:" Drugs law sets execution or 25 years imprisonment penalties
against traffickers of psychotropic substances, the same penalties
against hashish merchants.

Drugs, fearsome numbers

Yemeni concerned authorities say nearly 1000 person have been
included in drugs crime during the past eight years. During the
forth recent years only, more than 800 persons have been arrested,
150 of them are foreigners from several countries, Pakistan, Iran,
Syria, Kuwait and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

According to statistics of the General Anti-Drugs Department, drugs
crimes are fearfully increasing. In 2004, 42 drugs issues have been
registered. In 2008 crimes' number jumped up to 113. Meanwhile the
number of accused on drug charges jumped up from 75, three of them
are foreigners, to 252 in 2008. 72 of these accused were from other
citizenships.

This means that drugs issues and those involved in them have
increased during the past four years with the ratio of 30%. But
this level can not be compared to the seized quantities. In 2008,
the authorities have seized 13, 5 million tablets of drugs and
nearly one million tablets in the period between 2006 and 2007.

The authorities also confiscated six tons of Hashish in 2006. In
2004, 1500 hashish trees have been uprooted. While in 2008, 27 tons
of hashish have been confiscated and three of them have been
spoiled. This proves great increase of imported quantities of drugs
and hashish.

Anti-drug department has dangerous duties with humble potentials

The General Anti-Drugs Department (GADD) and its branches in the
country's governorates have only 50 officers and soldiers with
humble potentials. According to concerned officials, 100 soldiers
are expected to join GADD soon.

General Manager of GADD Khaled Arradhi says his department is the
executive body which is authorized to carry out operations of
fighting drugs across the country. There are other bodies sharing
the department this duty because of the nature of their work such as
custom authority and coast guard forces.

Over sources of drugs coming to Yemen, Arradhi says most of the
drugs come to the country from Asian eastern and southern countries
considered the famous areas of cultivating and manufacturing the
drugs. It may come from some countries via the sea or the air inside
goods. Drug traffickers have so many ways for trafficking drugs.

Over sayings that some drugs traffickers have not been held because
they have influence in Yemen, Arradh says this is untrue and that
there is nobody above the law whatever he is, but drug issues have
special nature differs than other crimes for it requires arresting
traffickers red handed.

Regarding process of money laundering resulted in drugs
trafficking, he says this issue is considered one of the most
prominent issues posing challenges before the world community via
its support to criminal activities such as terror and arm
trafficking.

Concerning dealing with criminals and obstacles facing security
activity, Arradhi says the law is clear over addicts who show
themselves for treatment. While in treatment period, there is no
legal procedure against him despite he is sinful and sick at the
same time. Furthermore, the law pardons him from the banishment
when he voluntary presents himself for medication.

The problem of drugs is the problem of the society, a matter obliges
the whole society to face it wither on level of state apparatus, the
civil society organizations or on the family level. Hence, I call
all state bodies, civil society organizations and citizens to fight
this lesion, every one in its field and role.

Addicts are poor and rich

Many of those who administrate these psychotropic substances have
become addicted and there are some who take theme indirectly within
drinks made by people and are sold at Qat markets. They added to
them medicines categorized as "psychotropic substances".

"Both poor and rich people take drugs. Some are able to get Heroin,
Hashish and Captagon and others can only get drink contains some
kind of narcotic tablets and become narcotic substances as it is
happen in one of Qat markets where this narcotic mixtures is sold,"
said Director of the National Program of Psychological Health at the
Ministry of Public Health and Population Dhia'a Fadhl.

She affirmed that cases of drugs addiction she has come across with
were Yemeni expatriates. They came to the country as psychologically
ill patients. Through treatment" we decide wither this person is
addicted or not." For example, some used to take the Diazepam and
become addicted to it and can not sleep without it. Mostly, addicts
do not admit to physicians that he is addicted because he fears the
outcome but the family notice symptoms on him.

The symptoms noticed on the addicted, she says, are "isolation, not
talking to others, being always absence from the house, asking for
more money and he may steal his mother's or sister's gold or sells
anything."

"The addicted becomes unordinary person and is devoted to commit
crimes. If you visit Sana'a Central Prison, you will find there many
who commit adultery crime with relatives," she says.

She thinks that smoking is the entrance to addiction among youth and
that "families have to carry on shoulder its responsibility towards
their sons. All must be aware of drugs addiction."