Duterte wants students educated on ills of drugs

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — President Duterte wants a United Nations list of illicit drugs distributed among schools nationwide as part of educating children on the serious effects of the chemicals in these illegal drugs on the mental and physical health of their users.

“I will give you a copy. This is good for the children. It is called precursors. You just digest it, International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), precursors and chemicals frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances,” the President said in remarks at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Center for Brighter Beginnings here at the Davao Convention Center Friday night.

The INCB, which produced the list, is an independent and quasi-judicial control organ for the implementation of UN drug conventions.

It is also involved in monitoring enforcement of restrictions on narcotics as well as in deciding which precursors should be regulated.

“I’ll give a copy of this to every school. Andito na lahat. Ang (Everything is here, the) chemicals,” he said, as he read out details and risks from cannabis addiction.

“Other risks – sinabi ‘yan about health… Other risks – cannabis smoke contains 50 percent tar, more than the high-tar cigarettes, which puts users at an increased risk of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases,” he pointed out.

“Mixing cocaine with alcohol is a dangerous cocktail and can greatly increase the chances of sudden death,” he added.

The President also talked about the dangers of Ecstasy pills, which he claimed also likely contain cocaine.

“Bright, moderate tablet or pills that are sold as Ecstasy may contain other potentially dangerous substances and can vary in strength and effects; may contain cocaine,” the President said.

He also spelled out the dangers of heroin overdose, including lapsing into coma or even death.

Effects of LSD are just as bad or even worse, he said. “They include dilated pupils, increased heart rate and blood pressure, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors. Some LSD users experience severe terrifying thoughts and feelings, as fear of losing control, fear of insanity, death and despair,” he pointed out.

He reiterated his warning on the lethal effects of shabu or methamphetamine which, he stressed, is chemical based.

He noted that other illegal substances are from extracts of poppy, a plant variety.

“You’d notice that heroin, cocaine are extracts of the poppy. Plant eh. It’s a plant. So they’re not very…you know, they are grown organic,” unlike shabu, Duterte said.

Duterte also said the United States had long been in denial about its problem on illegal drugs until President Donald Trump declared a national public health emergency.

“As what I’ve been saying, you take time. You take time to realize. I saw it a long time ago. I was still a mayor when I saw the devastation,” he said.

“One day to your sorrow, now you see, it is a national health problem. It is health really. It is law and order,” Duterte said.

Trump has declared a national emergency to address rampant abuse of opioids that kill more than 140 Americans each day. He called opioid addiction in America a “national shame.”

“They just declared. I just listened,” he said as he again taunted former president Barack Obama for criticizing his tough approach to fighting the drug menace.

“It’s national, it’s because it affects the health. And illegal substance affects the health and affects the peace. Huwag mong kalimutan ‘yan (Don’t forget that),” the President said.

Trump’s declaration, he pointed, has exposed the extent of the drug problem the US is facing. “I told you. So what’s happening to America? It is in total disorder,” he said.