By Susitha Fernando

Colombo, Dec 20 (IANS): Sri Lanka will establish a Presidential Task Force to battle use of narcotic drugs by school children. The President's Office, the Justice and Prison Ministry, and the Public Security Ministry have joined hands to create the Task Force to fight against the fast spread of toxic and dangerous drugs and to rehabilitate those addicted.

"The Task Force will specially focus on taking speedy action to save children from the drug menace," said the President's Office, which aims to identify, plan, and implement appropriate practical measures for the prevention of the use of dangerous and narcotic drugs stated.

Following the alarming discovery that over 40,000 school students addicted to narcotics, police and the education authorities have started searching school premises, bags and school buses every morning. The Police Narcotic Unit have been carrying out surprise checks using sniffer dogs around the country following the recent recovery of crystal methamphetamine, popularly known as "ice", from a school canteen in the Western Province where the schools are mostly affected, police said.

According to the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB), various drugs have been introduced to school children by distributing sweets and toffees laced with drugs around school and investigations have revealed that children have stolen money and gather at various locations where they could use drugs.

Education Minister Susil Premajayantha last week announced that over 80 school-going children have been sent on rehabilitation over the use of drug recently.

According to the PNB records, nearly 500,000 people are addicted to narcotic drugs and over 75 per cent of them are between the age groups of 14 to 30 years.