<Anchor>

We reported yesterday (5th) on how serious the drug epidemic has become in the United States, which legalized cannabis. The repercussions are affecting our country as well. In the United States, where regulations have been loosened, people who have come into contact with drugs are not able to continue to stop using drugs even when they return to our country.

Two reporters, Shin Shin-sik and Kim Min-joon, covered this story.

< Shin-sik>
Koreatown,
Manhattan, New York.

A drug dealership with a locked door and a barrage of customers.

When the reporter recognizes that he is Korean, he immediately opens the door.

[A hemp shop employee: A big part of our customers are Koreans, especially.]

This vendor, which breaks the rules of ID verification and just lets you in, even adds advice as if Koreans are used to it.

[B hemp shop staff: Korean tourists, about 15~30 people come a day, but it is not recommended to bring (hemp products) to Korea.]

It is said that many Koreans visit on Fridays when there are many parties.

[C hemp shop employee: Are there Koreans here? A lot of people come on Fridays!]

A sales office near Koreatown.

We are also handing out hemp products to tourists passing by on the road.

What I have in my hands right now is an oil with hemp in it.

Anyone who passes in front of the hemp shop can get it for free.

Smoking cannabis by Koreans in Koreatown restaurants is common.

[Lee Young, owner of a Korean town restaurant in New York: I keep hiding it in the restaurant, I hide it under my sleeve like this, and I do this. Masks are required (because of the smell).]

If you're Korean, hemp is of course illegal to smoke in the United States.

However, as the U.S. "brakes" loosen, the risk of South Koreans' exposure to illicit drugs is increasing.


---
<Reporter Kim Min-jun>
The drugs I learned
abroad didn't end there.

When I got back to Korea, I kept thinking about it, and I dabbled in other drugs and increased my intensity.

From overseas to Korea, let's meet those who have fallen into this vicious circle.

Mr. A, who moved to the United States when he was 3 years old,

started with "hemp", which he first experienced when he was in middle school.

[Mr. A: I have one or two friends who sell marijuana at every school, and I smoke marijuana before I start smoking or drinking.]

Later, I was introduced to ecstasy and cocaine at parties, and when I was over 20 years old, I came to Korea and eventually dabbled in meth.

[Mr. A: With the activation of Telegram, I also tried to get it online like this, so it's very easy.]

Mr. A, who is currently undergoing rehabilitation, was concerned that the legalization of cannabis would make it easier for Korean students to be exposed.

[Mr. A: I can't help but come across it, and even the idea that I have to get it has just disappeared and is taken for granted, just like going to the grocery store to buy it.]

Some international students who have experienced cannabis while studying abroad try to smuggle it in, and in fact, in April, an international student in his 20s was caught by the Customs Service while carrying it himself.

The amount of cannabis caught trying to smuggle from the U.S. continues to rise.

As a result of analyzing more than 140 cases related to cannabis in the United States over the past two years, 81 cases were brought in in the form of smuggling, etc., and 19 cases were taken together.

However, due to the nature of drug crimes, it is estimated that there is more cannabis smuggled into the country.

[Park Jin-sil/Drug Lawyer: The amount that comes in through international mail and things like that is not small, but not all of them are detected by customs.

The legalization of cannabis in the U.S. also threatens our "golden time" to stop drugs.

(Video reporter: Kang Dong-chul, Kim Seung-tae, Video editing: Kim Jun-hee, Oh Young-taek, CG: Jo so-in)

< anchor>
medical reporter
Cho Dong-chan is here.

Q. What is the actual situation starting in the United States and continuing domestically?

[Cho Dong-chan, medical reporter: The number of cannabis imports from the United States is increasing. Our health care team has analyzed all the rulings over a two-year period to find out. We've only seen hemp from the U.S., but the situation is the same in Canada, the U.K., and Southeast Asian countries. We've met with young people who have been involved in drugs in these countries, but we don't have any statistics on that. We need to start an academic study or a national investigation right away to find out how cannabis, serious drugs are coming in and who is mainly addicted to them. We can see what the most urgent measures are.]

Q. Why does hemp lead to malignant drugs?

[Cho Dong-chan, medical reporter: I'll show you two papers right away. The first paper is alcoholism, which I have always thought was caused by excessive drinking, but it says that it is not. The main reason is that there is a certain gene, and if you have this, you are more likely to fall into alcoholism even if you don't drink too much. If you look at the second paper, this It warns that people with certain genes are at high risk of becoming addicted to serious drugs such as morphine and fentanyl if they touch cannabis. This specific gene is 10~20 out of 100 people in the general population, which is not a small number. If they dabble in hemp, they are prone to falling into the swamp of malignant drug addiction.]

Q. Is there a need for a national survey of the drug-vulnerable population?

[Cho Dong-chan, medical reporter: If you have a specific gene, you are likely to become addicted to tobacco and coffee. People who want to quit alcohol, tobacco, and coffee but have difficulty can see the loss of cannabis. However, we need to investigate how these scientific principles are manifested in our reality. This is the first step in countering drugs. Let's do a fact-finding survey.]

(Video Editing: Oh Young-taek, CG: Lee Jae-joon)

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