The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) says its data reveal that 2 percent of the population in Bali, a total of more than 61,000 people, are drug users.
Most of them are between 21 to 40 years old, with the rest belonging to non-productive age groups.
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika admits more young people are falling prey into drug addiction in the island province — still Indonesia's number one tourist attraction.
"It's the government's duty to inform people about the dangers of using drugs. The BNN data are just reported cases. If we include the 'invisible' cases as well, the number could be two or three times higher," the governor said on Thursday (12/01) in Denpasar.
The governor made his comment while welcoming volunteers to the Prevention, Eradication, Abuse and Distribution of Illicit Drugs (P4GN) program, launched with the BNN.
The program managed to pull in 1,359 "pecalang," or local security officers, from villages all around Bali to become volunteers.
There are more than 5,900 pecalang in Bali, and the government expects to sign up more of them to the program.
According to the governor, the country is in a state of emergency when it comes to drug abuse, which is why he wants to do a "clean up" from the village level.
BNN Claims There Are More Than 60,000 Drug Users in Bali | Jakarta Globe
