Close to 5M Filipinos used illegal drugs, DDB poll says

Almost five million Filipinos experienced using illegal drugs at least once in ther lifetime based on the survey released by the Dangerous Drugs Board on Monday.

In the 2015 Nationwide Survey on the Nature and Extent of Drug Abuse, 4.8 million Filipinos, or 6.1 percent of the population aged 10-69, were found to be lifetime users—those who used drugs at least once in they lifetime.

Included in the 4.8 million are almost two million current users, or those who used illegal drugs during the survey period from December 2015 to February 2016.

The Resources, Environment and Economic Center for Studies conducted the survey with a sample of 5,000 respondents nationwide.

The 1,000 respondents each from the following areas: National Capital Region, Northern and Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Shabu, marijuana most popular

Six out of 10 of the respondents answered shabu when asked about which illegal drug comes at the top of their minds, while three of 10 said marijuana.

Ninety one percent showed awareness of shabu, followed by marijuana with 78.6 percent, and cocaine with 10.2 percent.

Meanwhile, 76.3 percent of the lifetime users said they had tried using marijuana, while 47.7 percent had tried shabu.

"If we were to add up all cases of drug intakes over a one-year period. Marijuana would be involved in 48 percent of the cases and shabu, 42 percent," REECS' Patricio Barretto Jr. said.

Almost 10 percent the of respondents used other drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, and heroin.

However, the survey found shabu users had a higher retention rate of 28.5 percent compared to marijuana at 24.7 percent.

Retention rate refers to the percentage of the population that tried using the drug and was more likely to use it again.

'Nababarkada'

Forty-nine percent of households admitted having a drug user in the family due to associating with friends.

"About half point to nababarkada or so much time with friends as the problem faced by households with a drug-using member," Barretto said.

Other factors in households include broken family/ disrespect for parents, depression, financial problems, and miscellaneous problems to the family.

The DDB poll said curiosity or the desire to experience the drug (43 percent) and peer pressure (38 percent) were the other top reasons in trying a drug.

It added peers of drug users provide their friends with free drugs 88 percent of the time.

Thirty seven percent of the respondents said they advised and confronted its drug-using member, 12 percent reported to the authorities, eight percent submitted them to rehabilitation, four percent moved away from peers, and two percent were watched over all the time.

"Actions taken regarding problems resulting from having a drug-using member consist mainly of giving advice to or confronting the member to stop the vice," Barreto said.

"Four out of 10 though [did] not do anything or [had] no idea what to do about it," he added. — RSJ/NB, GMA News