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In response to Body Shop's withdrawal of its hemp products, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service's Committee on Substance Abuse, Miss Rainbow Cheung today (Saturday) reminded the public not to underestimate the "lethal effects" of cannabis.
Miss Cheung, who is also a Service Supervisor of the Hong Kong Christian Service, described publicity on the hemp products as "immoral and irresponsible public education".
"The publicity has presented an unbalanced picture to the public. Cannabis is being billed as useful without a single word on its harms. It looks as if the Body Shop was trying to restore cannabis as a legal drug.
"Cannabis has become the most commonly abused psychotropic substance in Hong Kong. Each year, about 30 per cent of the drug abusers seeking services from our PS33 programme are cannabis abusers, who are aged between 20 and 25 years old, having abused cannabis for three to five years.
"Most of these cannabis abusers have abused more than one drug. This is because the more cannabis one abuses, the less high one may feel. Therefore, a cannabis abuser would resort to other illegal drugs in order to get high.
"Another special danger of abuse of cannabis is, besides harms to health, distorted perception of space and time, impaired memory, inability to balance, and inability to perform complicated activities, all of which may easily lead to accidents, Miss Cheung added.
Miss Cheung further pointed out that another special danger of cannabis is that it is difficult to detect withdrawal symptoms, giving the misconception that the drug is not addictive.
"This will make an abuser less alert and become psychologically and physically dependent on cannabis. In some cases, cannabis was mixed with cough medicine or other substances with the result of the abuser unknowingly becoming addicted to cannabis and other illegal drugs at the same time," she added.
Meanwhile, the Supervisor of Caritas Lok Heep Club, Mr David Cheung, said the Club objects to any form of drug abuse.
"The Body Shop's publicity has sent the wrong signal that cannabis is a trendy product and a culture of life, having created a bad influence on the public, especially youngsters. This is something that we don't want to see happening or being encouraged," he added.
Mr Cheung said another common misconception of cannabis is that it is not detrimental to health; makes one feel relaxed and joyous; makes one sleep well; and is not different from smoking tobacco.
"These misconceptions have been "deepened" by the recent publicity on the hemp products in the territory," he added.
The Operation Dawn, an agency engaged in the cure and rehabilitation of drug addicts since 1968 is also concerned about the issue of the hemp products. Its International Director and Founder, the Rev John Paul Chan said his agency considered that the Body Shop should not have introduced its hemp products to Hong Kong.
He also urged that the Body Shop to stop immediately any publicity glamourising hemp and cannabis.
The General Secretary of Operation Dawn, Mr Paul Tsang, said some people are very allergic to tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC), no matter how small the quantity is involved. Some say there is no medical proof that THC can be absorbed through skin; but on the other hand, there is no proof that it cannot be absorbed through skin.
Ends/Saturday, November 14, 1998
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