Defeating drugs menace the next challenge - President

Illicit drugs are a cancer that threatens the existence of society.

All should be united to defeat the challenge posed by illicit drugs just as terrorism was defeated through a united effort, President Mahinda Rajapaksa asserted yesterday.

In a message issued to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking which falls today, President Rajapaksa noted the success of the Mathata Thitha program initiated under the Mahinda Chintana.

The country’s anti-narcotics agencies are very active. No drug peddler or trafficker can escape the law. We need the help of not only the law but also of the entire society in this endeavour. It is only then that State mechanisms and interventions to save the country from illicit drugs become more meaningful,” the President said.

The President urged the public to rally against the drugs menace in order to create a pious nation.