EDITORIAL - Drugs, drivers, and students

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) operatives in Cebu City recently arrested a woman accused of selling drugs in Barangay Quiot Pardo.

The NBI normally handles high-profile domestic or transnational criminal cases, cybercrimes, and cases involving corruption and human trafficking. So what were they doing in a drug case involving a mere pusher?

The bureau said it took particular interest in this one because it involved someone who was allegedly operating near three schools and a bus station, and selling drugs to public utility drivers, as well as students.

"The reason why we conducted this operation, although we seldom operate on drugs, is because of the impact on the surrounding businesses and communities adjacent to that particular location," said the agent handling the case, Atty. Wenceslao Galindez.

It’s no secret that some drivers use shabu to help them drive longer. The drug is a stimulant and can actually be counted on to help them stay awake and concentrate longer.

It’s also no secret that some students turn to drugs for the exact same purpose; help them stay awake and concentrate longer.

However, we all know how drugs work; they have serious side effects like addiction, withdrawal symptoms, and hallucinations.

For students, an addiction can be bad. Especially when money intended for tuition, “miscellaneous fees”, school supplies, and rent, among others, now goes to feeding a drug habit.

For drivers, it can even be dangerous, and not just to themselves, but their passengers and others on the road too. Driving while drunk is one thing, driving while drugged is another.

Galindez said other pushers in that same area are also targeting students and drivers in particular.

"Actually there are a lot of them selling drugs in that particular location. They move from one place to the other,” he went on to say.

Law enforcers, the barangays, and schools should band together to make sure students and drivers don’t become prospective customers for drug pushers.

Because it’s certainly a bad development if many pushers have become so bold as to now position themselves in “strategic” areas near schools and places where they frequent.