Methamphetamine now being manufactured in Sri Lanka, justice minister says

Methamphetamine, commonly known as “ice”, is now being manufactured in Sri Lanka, Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said.

Nanayakkara said authorities had uncovered evidence of domestic production and raided several suspected manufacturing sites.

“Heroin is generally brought into the country, but methamphetamine can be produced locally,” he said, adding that ice had become one of the most widely used illegal drugs in Sri Lanka.

The minister said the Government was therefore confronting both imported narcotics and drugs produced within the country. However, he warned that raids, seizures and arrests would not eliminate the problem unless Sri Lanka also reduced the demand for drugs.

Nanayakkara said authorities must examine why people who had lived for decades without using drugs later became dependent on methamphetamine. Family problems, economic pressure, unemployment, neglect and the wider social environment could contribute to addiction, he said.

He added that rehabilitation programmes would have limited success if recovering users returned to the same conditions that had contributed to their addiction.

“A person may spend several months in rehabilitation and make progress, but then return to the same home, neighbourhood and social pressures,” he said. “If that environment has not changed, the person may return to drug use.”

Nanayakkara also said he had received reports from the Moratuwa area that some employers gave methamphetamine to labourers instead of paying proper wages, enabling them to work longer hours.

The employers might not use drugs themselves, but exploited addicted workers to reduce labour costs, he said.

The minister said the allegations illustrated the depth of Sri Lanka’s drug problem and the need for a response that combined law enforcement, rehabilitation and measures addressing the social and economic causes of addiction.