The City of Vilnius last week sponsored a two-day international conference entitled "AIDS and Drug Use: Let's Unify our Response."
Published:
5 October 2000 y., Thursday
The event brought together experts from Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, the United States as well as hundreds of representatives from many levels of
Lithuanian society and government: police and health officials, educators,
student leaders and politicians.
The main auditorium at the Vilnius Congress Hall was standing room only
for the opening addresses on Sept. 19 - a testament to the importance of
these issues in Lithuania today. In most cases, the speeches themselves
addressed concrete means of attacking the drug problem.
Kornelijus Platelis, Lithuania's minister of education, spoke about the
effect of drug use on schools in the country. "Drugs are affecting mainly
our young people. Drugs are openly sold in schools and underage crime
is increasing," he said.
Platelis advocated increased policing of drug traffickers and dealers in
order to reduce supply as well as working more closely with countries
more experienced in fighting drugs such as the United States, Russia and
Sweden.
While Lithuania was only a hub for the transportation of narcotics just a few short years ago, it is now a nation of drug producers and users, according to Ceslovas Blazys, minister of the interior. Some 21 percent of Lithuania's school-age boys and 9.6 percent of school-age girls experimented with drugs at least once, according to a
survey conducted by the Vilnius Pedagogical Institute in 1999.
Šaltinis:
baltictimes.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Ensuring that women are protected from physical, sexual or psychological abuse if they flee abroad is what lies behind the proposed European Protection Order.
more »
Remnants of Tropical Storm Agatha dumped more rain across Central America, killing at least 73 people in the region, and forcing scores of others to flee their homes.
more »
Ninety-three-year old Lim Guan Siew looks back, with regret, on her experience of the long-dispelled Chinese custom of foot-binding.
more »
Ahead of the 2010 No Tobacco Day (Monday 31st May), the European Commission unveils the results of a Eurobarometer survey which shows that a strong majority of EU citizens support stronger tobacco control measures.
more »
Enviromentalist and endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh puts his body to the test in thin air and cold water to highlight shrinking glaciers in high mountain ranges.
more »
It’s a dog’s life for the 1,500 unwanted strays who spend their days in a slum-like shelters in Brazil’s southern city of Caxias do Sul.
more »
Three resolutions on the situation in Thailand, the pre-election climate in Burma and religious freedom in Pakistan were adopted by the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday.
more »
Growing numbers of children enroll in kung-fu schools to learn self-defense techniques after a series of school attacks in recent weeks spark wide-spread concern in China.
more »
Homosexuality in the military can be a thorny issue around the world, with gay and lesbian soldiers often hiding their sexual preference out of fear.
more »
European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding will urge EU Member States to swiftly ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities during a May 19 Ministers’ meeting in Zaragoza, Spain.
more »