Police have summoned a large number of students from ethnic villages in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak for smoking cannabis, which is banned in Vietnam, and offered to excuse them in this instance so they can continue their studies.

They number 34 youths, including 16 students of Quang Trung High School in Hoa Dong Commune, Krong Pak District.

Some admitted to police that they had used the “weed,” the common name of cannabis or marijuana, for two years; while others confessed that they smoked it around 20 times.

They said that they often gather in cafeterias to smoke.

In most cases, their families are unaware of their children’s addiction to the drug.

According to their statements, it costs between VND30,000 (US$1.3) and VND50,000 ($2.2) to smoke the “weed” once.

The drug is often sold in packs valued from VND300,000 to VND500,000 and is sufficient for ten “smokes."

Some students even admitted that they played intermediary roles between cannabis dealers and smokers to earn small profit, enough to have money to satisfy their daily addiction.

After an initial introduction by a smoker to a dealer, they can contact dealers directly by phone to obtain the “weed.”

Besides smoking the leaves and stems of cannabis, some students even smoke cannabis resin which is itself a highly addictive substance.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hoanh, vice head of the police department of Krong Pak, said naïve students were not fully informed of the consequences of the drug.

So, police have chosen to forgive them for this first offence in order that the students may continue their studies.

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