One Turk a day dies due to drug abuse, statistics show

ISTANBUL

This photo shows marijuana confiscated in a raid in the southern city of Adana. Turkish security forces detained 105,665 suspects in 2011 in 67,099 drug raids. AA Photo

Some 365 people died in the last year in Turkey due to drug addiction, according to the Interior Ministry, which said 95.2 percent of the victims were male.

The report indicated that 105 of the deaths were “directly” connected to drug addiction like overdoses and that the other 260 fatalities were “indirectly” caused by drug usage.

The report, based on statistics collected in 2011, is the most comprehensive report prepared by the Interior Ministry’s Police Department.

The head of the Police Department’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Bureau (KOM), Mehmet Yeşilkaya, said that in 2011 and 2012, 117 tons of cocaine, 17.1 tons of heroin, 1 million pills of the drug captagon and 3 million ecstasy pills were seized by security forces.

Successful operations take toll on cartels

With successful operations against organized crime groups over the two years, the leaders of many groups pushing drugs have been arrested and sent to prison, he said.

The average age of male drug addicts is 33.5 while the average age of their female counterparts was 43.2, resulting in an average of 34. The report added, however, that a child under the age of 15 died for the first time due to drugs.

Turkish security forces detained 105,665 suspects in 2011 in 67,099 drug raids. The usage of heroin, marijuana and captagon has decreased, the report said, but added that the usage of cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine had risen.

The report also included a survey which revealed that some 40.3 percent of addicts started using drugs because of a “sense of curiosity,” 23.89 percent said “their friend influenced them,” 15.23 percent said “they found an exit in drugs while escaping from their problems,” while 14.31 percent put the blame on “family matters.”

Some 8,045 people were interviewed for the survey; just 2.7 percent said they used drugs at least once in their lives, although 51 percent said they had tried smoking cigarettes, Cuban cigars or nargiles.