Sri Lankan parliament establishes committee to control drug menace

Colombo, July 2 Sri Lanka's parliament said it appointed a parliamentary select committee to control and eradicate the rapidly spreading drug menace in the country.

This was announced by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Saturday and the committee is chaired by Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, Xinhua news agency reported.

The committee is to identify the mechanisms to control and eradicate the drug menace in the country, and it will soon submit its observations and recommendations, according to the parliament.

According to the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board, the total number of people arrested for drug-related offences was 152,979 in 2022, of which 45.6 per cent were for heroin, and 35 per cent for cannabis.