<Anchor>
In
broad daylight, a drug-addled man is staggering in front of a subway station in the United States. There is a police officer nearby, but the main body is left as it is. In the United States, where drug infraction is so severe, one out of every five people over the age of 12 is using illegal drugs. The failure to stop drugs in time and forcefully has led to this result, which is something that our country, which is spreading rapidly, should pay attention to.

Let's start with a reporter's on-the-spot interview in Manhattan, New York.

<Reporter>

A person is stopped by passers-by and smoking something.

When I looked into it, I found that it was cannabis made by rolling hemp leaves on paper.

In a subway station, he leans against the wall of the stairs in an awkward position, motionless, or limp without consciousness.

It's a classic symptom of drug addiction.

I'm in the middle of Manhattan in New York right now.

However, if you look to the side, you can see that there is a casual mix of drugged people among the citizens like this.



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Since 2021, New York City has licensed more than 60 cannabis dispensaries.

As a result, more than 1,400 illegal sales outlets have sprung up, selling illicit drugs such as fentanyl and heroin in addition to cannabis.

Since hemp is relatively less addictive, the idea was to bring it out into the sunshine to manage and tax it, but it opened Pandora's box.

[Naomi/New Yorker: Someone at school tried to give hemp to my daughter, who is in high school, and I'm sad that everyone is free to do whatever they want and have so many options.]

One local addict confessed that marijuana, which started lightly and easily, ended up "destroying his life."

[Corey Wilson/Drug Addict: I started with cannabis and went on to cocaine and heroin, which are stronger drugs, and my life just kept getting worse.]

(Video Interview: Kim Seung-tae, Video Editing: Kim Jun-hee)


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< anchor >

reporter Shin Shin-sik are here.

Q. Is it okay to legalize cannabis?

[Credible reporter: Cultivate cannabis, control it, and collect taxes? It can be said that this idea in some cities in the United States, including New York, was reckless. Recently, New York has stepped up its crackdown on illegal sales outlets, but it is not something that will be done by cracking down on sales outlets. It is even said that the United States has already missed the so-called golden time in stopping drugs, and the symbolic place is Kensington, Philadelphia. Let's see what the United States missed.]


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[Chasing, chasing, chasing!]

One of a gang of drug addicts pounces on a reporter's car with a skewer.

[Oh dear.... It would have been a big deal if I got off.]

Lawless is Kensington Street in Philadelphia, home to the largest drug market in the United States.

It's just a 1-minute drive from the city centre.

On this street, which is just over 10 kilometers long, the syringes and garbage that have just been used are dumped so casually.

Let's see how close and how serious the temptation of drugs is.

I was accompanied by a pastor who had been volunteering for drug addicts in Kensington for many years.

[Chae Wang-kyu/Local pastor: Look at that, he's stiffened on fentanyl right now, right?]

They are also seen giving each other syringes filled with drugs.

[Pastor Chae Wang-kyu : (That's) heroin needles, and I carry 3~100 of them with me.]



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You can see mothers trying to do drugs with strollers, and the lawn of the library park is full of adults who are addicted to drugs and no students everywhere.

[Wang Kyu Chae/Local Pastor: There are about 2,10 people in this Kensington area who do drugs, and this is where violence and money dealing and prostitution and the basics of society are destroyed.]

Despite the use of strong public powers, the situation continues to deteriorate.

[Joseph Bishop/Drug addicts: 5~6 out of <> people in this city are directly or indirectly involved with drugs.]

Kensington got to this point because he missed the right time to respond strongly.



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At the end of the 1990s, the drug situation in Portugal and the United States was similar.

Since the 2000s, Portugal has seen drug deaths fall to one-fifth of the European average, while the U.S. has seen steep increases, surpassing 1,5 last year.

The biggest difference is when we started to tackle the drug problem in 11 in Portugal and in 2001 in Philadelphia in the United States.

In the United States, the roots of drug distribution networks have deepened, and as drugs have become cheaper, youth and the poor have fallen into the swamp of addiction.

The United States set aside $2016 billion and 500 trillion won to fight drugs last year, but it is difficult to predict how effective it will be when the golden time has passed.

(Video Interview: Kim Seung-tae, Video Editing: Oh Young-taek, CG: Jo so-in)

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Q. Focus on young people at the right time?

[Credible reporter: Whether the policy was implemented within the golden time is the biggest difference. Among them, Portugal's focus on young people was particularly effective. According to Portugal's analysis report, the biggest success factor is to reduce drug consumption among the 50~15 age group. To this end, we implemented two policies, the first of which is to cut off the supply. We closely monitored the flow of drugs from South American countries, which were former colonies. The second is education. The report says, "We trained like carpet bombing." They educated the youth about how harmful drugs are in every place where they gathered. 'Ll. I think we should also refer to our country, which is relatively passive in drug education for adolescents.]

Q. Is it also affected by Korea?

[Reporter Shin Shin-sik: The effects of the legalization of cannabis in the United States are already affecting the local Korean community, and it is also affecting Korean society through international students and tourists.

(Video reporter: Kim Seung-tae, Video editing: Oh Young-taek, Kim Jun-hee)