IRIN news, the UN news service, has a disturbing article about drug addiction amongst Jordanian women. Here is one ‘lowlight’:

A recently UNODC conducted Global School Health Survey indicated that, while the use of drugs like alcohol and tobacco was considerably higher among Jordanian males, the use of sleeping pills and inhalants was higher among females.

What disturbed me the most in the report was the fact that heroin use in Jordan is on the rise. Sigh!

According to Jordan’s anti-narcotics department, hashish, a marijuana derivative, had been the most commonly reported illicit narcotic in the country up until the mid-1990s. Since then, however, the interior ministry has reported rising cases of heroin. Ecstasy pills have also been seized by the authorities with greater frequency, and some predict the tablets could represent a new trend in local drug consumption.

Source: [IRIN]