REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LUBUKLINGGAU -- Some college students who had undergone urine tests were found to have used drugs, according to spokesman of the local National Narcotics Agency (BNN) Ibnu Mundzakir.

"If there is scope to rehabilitate the drug users, we will go ahead with it, but we are still awaiting further proceedings for confirmation," he remarked here on Friday.

Mundzakir explained that ten of the college students who underwent the urine test were found to have used drugs and were then detained for further course of action.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla affirmed that the BNN needed greater authority to eradicate the drug menace, and therefore, its status must be upgraded.

"We believe the danger of narcotic drug abuse has reached such an alarming level that it has begun affecting people from all strata and age groups. Hence, the authority of the BNN needs to be increased," Kalla affirmed in Jakarta recently.

The vice president expressed hope that by assigning greater authority to the BNN, it would be able to tackle, act against, and bring drug abusers to justice in accordance with the laws.

President Joko Widodo had first mooted the idea of upgrading BNN's status and increasing the authority of the agency during a cabinet meeting held some time ago.

At the meeting, President Widodo hoped that stringent measures would be required to eradicate the drug problem.

The House of People's Representatives has begun holding discussions on the government's plan to upgrade the status of BNN to ministerial level.

On a separate occasion, Bambang Soesatyo, chairman of the House's Commission III, expressed support to the government's plan as he believed that the agency, indeed, needed greater authority to carry out its tasks.

"It is certain that Commission III will support the government's move as the BNN indeed needs greater authority than what it currently has," he added.

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