High Marijuana Consumption Among Youth in Iran

Hamid Sarami, advisor to the Secretary-General of Iran's Drug Control Headquarters, warned on Tuesday, December 27, about the high consumption of marijuana among youth. He noted that the destruction of over 'two thousand meth labs' from 2005 to 2016, the seizure of 'over 20 tons of meth' in Iran, and the execution and imprisonment of meth traffickers have led to a decrease in meth use, but reported a 'worrisome prevalence of marijuana among youth.' Sarami told Tasnim News Agency, 'Unfortunately, the recent concern of the country is the consumption of cannabis, marijuana, and hashish among teenagers and young adults.' This official from the Drug Control Headquarters called for urgent intelligence, military, and judicial actions to control cannabis, hashish, and marijuana, citing the success of authorities in controlling meth and the increase in its price from 5 million tomans per kilogram to 51 million tomans per kilogram. Earlier, on November 8 of this year, Ali Asghar Soltani, Deputy Prosecutor of Markazi Province, reported the arrest of six individuals for cultivating marijuana in the province. Three years ago, police discovered a marijuana farm in the city of Mahaan near Kerman. In recent years, media have reported on the cultivation of marijuana in Tehran apartments and other cities, with social media pages teaching how to grow the plant. Reports have indicated that marijuana is cultivated in various forms, including greenhouse and farm methods, at home or on a larger scale in some areas. In July, a New York Times reporter in Iran reported high marijuana consumption among Iranians, noting that the smell of 'flower' is present in all restaurants and recreational centers like Dizin and Shemshak, highlighting Iran's relative success in controlling heroin and opium but its failure in controlling marijuana. According to a report from the fifth issue of the newspaper Shargh in January 2015, the marijuana consumed in Iran is of the medical type, containing 24 to 30 percent of the narcotic 'THC,' which in the U.S. is only used for treating incurable diseases and for a short period. In contrast, marijuana consumed in the U.S. contains only 4 to 8 percent THC. While there are no precise statistics on marijuana addiction in Iran, Ali Hashemi, head of the Drug Control Committee at the Expediency Discernment Council, announced on October 16 that the number of addicts in Iran is about four million, stating that based on a study, 15 years ago, the vast majority of addicts were illiterate or semi-literate, but in recent years, drug use has also been observed among those with higher education.