SINGAPORE - There is a worrying trend of increased cannabis seizures and new abusers of the drug under the age of 30.

While methamphetamine, also referred to as Ice, continues to be one of the most commonly abused drugs, cannabis use is on the rise, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said on Wednesday at the release of its annual statistics for 2022.

There was a 71 per cent spike in the number of cannabis abusers nabbed – from 138 in 2021 to 236 in 2022.

There were 1,445 methamphetamine abusers arrested in 2022, a 9.4 per cent decrease compared to the figure in 2021 when 1,595 users were caught.

Many of the young cannabis users were new abusers of the drug. CNB said that of the new abusers arrested in 2022, 70 per cent were below the age of 30, including a 14-year-old.

Describing it as a worrying trend, CNB said that almost two in three (61 per cent) of combined repeat and new users of the drug were below the age of 30.

The trend comes amid a global shift in attitudes towards drugs, which has seen the liberalisation of policies surrounding narcotics in some countries, including Thailand.

CNB said that cannabis abuse is a problem around the world, and it is now the most widely used drug worldwide.

The figures released on Wednesday showed that the total number of drug abusers arrested in 2022 had increased by 3 per cent to 2,812, from the 2,729 arrested in 2021.

There was a drop in the number of drug abusers arrested in 2021 compared with 2020 amid restricted social interactions due to Covid-19 measures.

However, drug seizures remained high as trafficking syndicates adapted and found novel ways to bring drugs into Singapore.

The figures showed a significant jump in cannabis seized in 2022 – from 107.08kg in 2021 to 133.25kg in 2022.

Mr Sam Tee, director of CNB, voiced his concerns over the shifting attitudes towards drug use among the young.

“While we continue to receive strong support from a very large majority of youth for Singapore’s drug-free approach and laws, recent surveys have shown that, fuelled in part by the ‘normalising’ of abuse of cannabis in other parts of the world, a growing proportion of our youth may hold more permissive views on drugs,” he said.

“Despite the harms of cannabis being well evidenced by the medical community, including its potential for addiction, they do not think cannabis is harmful.”

Mr Tee said CNB will increase its efforts to raise the awareness among the youth about the harm cannabis use, and drug abuse in general, can cause.

Figures also showed drugs with a total estimated street value of $14.04 million were seized in 2022. These included 67.17kg of heroin and 26.75kg of Ice. In 2021, CNB seized 95.43kg of heroin and 49.95kg of Ice.

The number of new drug abusers nabbed in 2022 decreased by 15 per cent to 797, compared with 936 in 2021. But about half of all new drug abusers arrested in 2022 were below the age of 30.

Dr Chew Tuan Chiong, vice-chairman of the National Council Against Drug Abuse, is worried that more young people are getting involved in drugs.

“The parallel between this trend and the growing permissive attitudes that youth and young adults have towards drug abuse is a concern,” he said.

Dr Chew noted that in 2016, an overwhelming proportion of respondents in a council survey on drug perceptions had disagreed with the statement that “drug-taking is fine as long as it doesn’t affect others”.

“In 2020, this sentiment had dropped from 94.2 per cent to 84 per cent for adults, and 88.8 per cent to 80.5 per cent for youth and young adults,” he added.

Dr Chew said this decrease suggests more in society could be lowering their guard to the dangers of drug abuse.

“While many who may hold permissive views about drug-taking might not intend to try drugs themselves, we must realise that permissive mindsets create a riskier environment for people who are vulnerable,” he said.

“Those of us who are parents may want to reflect on our perspective regarding drug use because apathy or permissiveness towards drugs does not line up with reality or our aspirations for our children.”

Mr Tee on Wednesday called for a clear zero-tolerance stand against drug abuse, saying people should speak out against it and help spread drug-free values, especially to children.

“Singapore’s focus is on building a drug-free society, not a drug-tolerant one.

“As a small nation, we can ill afford the societal devastation that can be caused by widespread drug addiction as witnessed in other countries,” he said.