Bontang Utara claimed to be drug free
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago | Mon, July 09 2012, 8:00 PM
Awang Faroek Ishak: (Tribunnews/FX Ismanto)
East Kalimantan administration has claimed Bontang Utara in Bontang Regency as a district that is free from any drug-related activities.
East Kalimantan Governor Awang Faroek Ishak said on Monday that the district, which is comprised of six sub-districts, had made fast development in only one year.
Last year, the district only identified one of its sub-districts as a zero-drug area.
“We commend the district for its efforts in curbing the trade and abuse of drugs,” he was quoted by tribbunews.com as saying.
Awang said that the district’s commitment was oustanding amid the fast growth of drug consumption in East Kalimantan.
A survey conducted by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) last year reported that drug consumption in East Kalimantan was the third highest in the country after Riau Islands and Jakarta.
The survey found 3.1 percent of the population, or 74,000 people consuming various forms of drugs, including crystal methamphetamine. The number was up from 1.9 percent in 2008.
