UK has more problems with drugs than PH

THIS may come as a surprise but on the average per person, the United Kingdom (UK) has a bigger problem on drugs than the Philippines.

This was pointed out by British Ambassador to Manila Asif Ahmad as he emphasized that the UK was also facing the same drug problem confronting the Philippines, but has other methods to address it.

Recent studies showed that more than 15 million Britons, or nearly one in three of the adult population, have taken illegal drugs and the proportion of the nation who have ever taken drugs is increasing over time.

However, according to Ahmad, the UK relies on other ways to address the issue effectively without resorting to any bloodshed on the part of police authorities and alleged drug users and dealers.

“Our approach is different,” said Ahmad in a televised media interview. “We see this as a health issue.”

He said the British government believed that it was more effective to send drug suspects to communitybased treatment programs rather than prison.

At the same time, the top British diplomat in Manila expressed his agreement with the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to halt all police operations related to the government’s campaign against drugs and instead cleanse the Philippine National Police internally.

“There’s nothing worse than to have mistrust while they are doing their job,” he said.

Another effective method to solve the drug problem was “choking” the flow of money, Ahmad earlier pointed out.

“If you start to address the flow of money, you stop to choke the business,” he said.

The envoy bared that UK, under its anti-money laundering law, has no bank secrecy rules, making it easier for the British government to track down the movement of drug money in the market.

“Something that the Philippines does not really have which is the ability to track money,” he said. “If you start to address the flow of money, you stop or choke the business.”