Arrest of 300,000 People Related to Drugs in Iran Over 10 Months

The Drug Control Headquarters in Iran reports that 300,000 individuals have been arrested in connection with drug-related offenses over the past 10 months. Alireza Jazini, the Deputy Secretary-General of this headquarters, added that 60,000 of these individuals are street addicts. According to ISNA news agency on Sunday, February 1, Jazini also reported that 2,000 people have died in Iran this year due to drug use, including 200 women, representing a 9.2% increase compared to last year. Jazini did not mention the total number of addicts in Iran, but according to Hamshahri newspaper, he had previously reported identifying 1,325,000 addicts in Iran in December. He simultaneously described the shift in drug consumption from traditional to industrial and crystal meth as catastrophic and very concerning, stating that 1% of school students consume drugs, which was previously 0.5%. On February 1, Jazini noted that industrial drugs are involved in 25% of murders in the country. Various statistics have been reported regarding the total number of addicts in Iran, with some officials and experts citing the number as exceeding four million. Jazini mentioned that 89% of addiction treatment centers across the country have been organized or closed, and this headquarters expects local officials in Lorestan to place 10 centers on the path to legal organization. In December, Jazini reported that there are 6,000 addiction treatment centers nationwide, with 93% of them operated by the private sector. He also stated that there are 1,400 unauthorized addiction treatment centers in the country, of which 88% had been organized by that time. On February 1, ISNA quoted Saeed Ghasemian, the Director General of Planning and Information Technology at the Drug Control Headquarters, who reported at the 'Women in the Path of Social Development' conference that 62% of female drug users are married, 41% are under 35 years old, and 71% have a high school diploma or less, with most female addicts consuming opium, crystal meth, and heroin. Ghasemian added that drug use leads to domestic violence in 65% of cases and divorce in 55% of cases. He announced that the number of imprisoned women is 6,700 and stated that 43% of male and 54% of female prisoners are incarcerated for drug-related crimes. In this context, '500 tons of drugs' are consumed annually in Iran.