While Saudi Arabia has long had a drug problem, there is concern that addiction is now becoming a problem for youths. Saudi Gazette reports on a conference held in Riyadh to address the problem, from identifying youths at risk to finding the right kind of treatment for them. Interesting reading.

Juvenile drug addiction on the rise in Kingdom
Suzan Zawawi

RIYADH – More than 900 addicted children between the ages of 7 and 18 were placed in juvenile correctional facilities across the Kingdom last year, Awatif Al-Diraibi, a social researcher at the Anti-Narcotics General Directorate, informed a workshop on drugs, Saturday.

Dubbed ‘Keep Our Children Away from Drugs,’ the workshop organized by the Women’s Division at the Anti-Narcotics General Directorate and the Student Guidance Division at Riyadh’s General Education Administration Riyadh continued its activities for the second day at Prince Salman Social Center Sunday in Riyadh.

At least 70 participants took part in the workshop.

Addicted children are either reported by their families or caught red-handed by authorities, Diraibi said.

They are usually referred to court, she added. Last year, courts across the Kingdom sentenced 717 juveniles to correctional facilities. The Ministry of Social Affairs said it had 18 juvenile correctional facilities, 14 for boys and four for girls.

National Human Rights Association (NHRA) has many times asked for lesser punishment of children involved in drugs cases, Diraibi said.

Teens are the most susceptible to drugs, said sociologist Fawzia Al-Bikr of King Saud University.

The causes for juvenile drug addiction are categorized as negligence of family, bad friends, unemployment, and inappropriate and influential media with shows contradicting the traditional values of society, Diraibi said.
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