REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan revealed that the capital city has some 500 thousand drug users.
"Hence, it is estimated to reach more than 500 thousand people comprising 40 percent employees and 20 percent students. This information is obtained from the BNNP (Jakarta narcotic office)," Baswedan said here, Tuesday.
Based on information from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission, the number of child drug traffickers has increased up to 300 percent.
The number of drug abuse cases had reached 17,300 in 2016, an increase from 12,929 cases in 2014.
The number of university graduates using drugs increased by more than 400 percent, the governor said.
He urged Jakartans to free their areas from the drug menace and to prevent narcotics abuse.
"We have zero tolerance against drug abuse. There is no compromise. We have zero tolerance, as our children are our future," he said.
The Jakarta government will involve the neighborhood coordinators in the fight against drug abuse.
Meanwhile, an estimated four million Indonesians use narcotics. Drugs kill 33 Indonesians daily.
The Indonesian Narcotics Agency has placed Indonesian drug users into three categories: people who have "ever tried" drugs, totaling approximately 1.6 million; "regular" users numbering 1.4 million; and drug addicts adding up to 943 thousand.