GROWING NUMBERS OF BASRAH YOUTHS TURN TO DRUGS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000122 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/22/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PBTS PINS SOCI SNAR IZ SUBJECT: GROWING NUMBERS OF BASRAH YOUTHS TURN TO DRUGS BASRAH 00000122 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Mark Marrano, Deputy Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah, DOS. REASON: 1.4 (b) . (C) Summary: The head of drug addiction treatment at Basrah General Hospital, Dr. Akeil Al Sabagh, estimated that five percent of Basrah's male population between 18 and 30 are drug abusers, with female users at less than one percent. In a meeting with polff on July 17, the doctor said the most widely used drugs are pharmaceuticals that have legitimate medical uses but are widely taken for their euphoric and calming effects, such as Valium. Large quantities of hashish and khat enter Iraq from Iran for transshipment to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia; use of these drugs is not widespread in Basrah. U.S. police and customs agents who conduct Iraqi police training say Iraqi police and customs agents are not able to control drugs entering the country or stop domestic drug abuse. With rampant violence, oil smuggling, and weapons trafficking, the issue of drug trafficking in Basrah is of low priority. End summary. Drug Abuse in Basrah Largely Limited to Pharmaceuticals -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Dr. Al Sabagh said the most commonly abused drugs are clonazepam (known commercially as Rivotril),benzhexol (Artane), diazepam (Valium),and nitrazepam (Mogodon). The first two are prescribed to treat seizures of people suffering from epilepsy and Parkinson's disease but are consumed illegally for their mood enhancing effects. Diazepam and nitrazepam are used to reduce anxiety. Dr. Al Sabagh said he personally has treated about 1,000 patients for drug addiction. He declared that the numbers of drug abusers he has treated personally and observed at large have risen markedly in the past three years. ¶3. (C) Dr. Al Sabagh commented that young men are turning to drugs to cope with poverty, unemployment and violence. Known collectively as "wardi," he said the pills are easily obtained at pharmacies, shops, cafes, the Umm Al Broom Park in downtown Basrah, and at refreshment kiosks on the highway connecting Basrah with Maysan Province to the north. The doctor reported that the drugs are manufactured inside Iraq and are imported from Iran, Pakistan, Lebanon, and other places. He added that substantial numbers of young men also inhale the fumes of paint thinner, gasoline and glue to alter their mental states. Alcohol abuse in Basrah is far less prevalent because it is proscribed under Islam, and Islamic political parties in southern Iraq have been largely successful in influencing the local population against alcohol. He noted that treatment for abuse of pharmaceuticals, paint thinner, gasoline and glue is easier than for opiates because the degree of addiction is lower. He said that he is aware that hashish and opium-based drugs are being smuggled into Iraq but he has not seen widespread use of those substances in Basrah. ¶4. (C) Dr. Al Sabagh said that as a member of a committee that includes police, educators, medical experts and social leaders formed to combat drug abuse, he advocates for public education to reduce drug abuse in Basrah. Effective law enforcement, he said, is largely ineffective. He gives lectures to students about the medical dangers of drug abuse; prominent clerics have issued fatwas, or decrees, condemning the illegal consumption of drugs; the walls of schools, hospitals and public places have been hung with warning posters. Transshipment of Drugs from Iran -------------- ¶5. (C) A police officer who is a former head of drug investigations of the Serious Crimes Unit, Captain Hayder Mihssen Jabar, told poloff on July 19 that large quantities of hashish and khat, known for its hallucinogenic properties, are entering Basrah from Iran, possibly with the backing of Iranian government officials. He stated that the end users of those drugs are in Kuwait. A Basrah businessman said that Saudi Arabia also is the destination for a large portion of the hashish and khat being transported across Iraq. ¶6. (C) U.S. police and customs officers involved in training Iraqi agents say that drug control efforts have a low priority, given the deadly insurgency and rampant smuggling of fuel products. They note that Iraq's borders are uncontrolled and fishing boats on the Shatt Al Arab river separating Iraq and Iran make nightly crossings without inspections. ¶7. (C) Comment. Dr. Al Sabagh's information pertaining to Basrah is consistent with U.N. findings about drug abuse throughout the country. In the past two years, the United Nations has allocated $3.2 million for the purpose of combating substance abuse, and international conferences with panels about drug abuse in Iraq have taken place in Cairo and Istanbul in the BASRAH 00000122 002.2 OF 002 past year. The doctor said that prospects for improvement in the near term are not bright considering the fact that only two psychiatrists are still practicing in Basrah after two others have fled to escape the lethal violence that has gripped the city. Although drug abuse is not Basrah's most pressing concern, the upward trend in drug use among young men in Basrah -- the same demographic population targeted for recruitment by militias -- is cause for concern. We will continue to monitor drug abuse in Basrah. End comment. MARRANO