By: Media and Corporate Communication Unit

KAJANG, January 14, 2025 – The Director-General of the National Anti-Drugs Agency (NADA), Dato’ Ruslin Jusoh, said that a total of 169,691 drug addicts and abusers had been recorded in the country since last September.

He stated that it was a 31.6 per cent increase in the number compared to the same period from 2023.

According to him, the synthetic drugs Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS) like methamphetamine, yaba pills, and ecstasy remain as the drug addicts’ preferred drug choice which proves the significant threat of synthetic drugs.

“Youths aged from 19 to 39 years old are still the highest from the age category to be detected abusing drugs with a total of 98,977 individuals, representing 58.3% of the overall total.

“Meanwhile the most abused drugs are the Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS) like methamphetamine, yaba pills, and ecstasy which includes 119,410 individuals that make up 70% of the total,” he said.

He made these statements in his speech during the NADA Director-General Address Ceremony and Monthly Assembly held at the headquarters, on Tuesday.

In addition, Dato’ Ruslin elaborated that the total is followed by opiates with 38,854 individuals, cannabis with 6,750 individuals, and the rest of the drugs and psychotropic pills.

Furthermore, he mentioned that a total of 58,875 addicts are receiving treatment in all of the facilities since last January 10th, with 1,502 of them being volunteers and 57,373 mandatory ones.