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CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants a novel way to address the drug menace: let young people see what illegal drugs look like and let them talk to a real drug addict to satisy their curiosity.
He urged government agencies involved in the campaign against illegal drugs to conduct a program that would address the curiosity of young people about drugs.
Osmeña made the suggestion following reports that the number of persons who have tested positive of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has sharply risen this year in Cebu.
Most of those found positive of HIV were injectable drug users.
?Our education on drugs is not sufficient because it is not even honest. Most will say you'll take this, you'll die!..Why can't we be honest..it's not true that you'll die, you just lose your ability to be a normal person,? he said.
?We exaggerate the fear and it doesn't work. Young people are very curious about drugs or anything else for that matter. It's normal for a young person to be curious about anything. It might be drugs, sex or whatever. It's either we'll educate them properly, teach them in the classroom or they'll learn behind the classroom,? he added.
Osmeña wants the City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (Cosap) to orient students on the dangers of drug use by letting students see what illegal drugs look like while allowing them to see and talk to a real drug addict.
Osmeña said that aside from the regular police action such as arresting persons into illegal drugs, one must also find out why a person is willing to be a victim of drugs.
He said that barangays should do a strong and a more definite profile of a drug user so that people might understand why drug addicts are into it.
Osmeña is also in favor of distributing condoms as a way of preventing the spread of HIV. ?But I will never force the people to use it. But just make it available,? he said.
Dr. Ilya Abellanosa Tac-an, Cebu City Health Office epidemiologist, said there's a need to institutionalize the HIV/AIDS education specially in the school, ?because we want to prevent students from doing risky behavior.?
Tac-an said they were looking to include HIV prevention in pre-employment seminars and wellness program in work places and communities. And even HIV seminars prior to the issuance of health cards or business permit.
The Department of Health in Central Visayas relies on information dissemination to address the rising cases of HIV/AIDS and the spread of this disease through intravenous drug use.
?Our focus is on infection control and spread of HIV/AIDS,? said DOH-7 director Dr. Susana Madarieta
