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East Asia: Reefer Madness Snares Taiwan Celebrities

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #465)
Politics & Advocacy

Seven Taiwanese entertainers have been questioned by police about whether they smoked marijuana, and while they all initially denied using the weed, at least two came forth this week to tearfully admit they had indeed puffed. They face two months in drug treatment if their urine tests come back positive.

Tuo Chung-kang and Chu Chung-heng, the hosts of a popular TV program, made the ritual confession and self-flagellation at a Sunday press conference where they apologized to the public for earlier trying to hide their misdeeds. "I was abroad and so I thought I could relax and have some fun," Tuo said, adding that he had only smoked when he was in Thailand and the Philippines earlier this year. "I was too naive and I feel bad about it."

Chu, an actor and variety show host, told a separate news conference that he had lied because he was afraid of the ramifications . "I feared that I might lose all that I've strived for if I confessed," Chu tearfully told reporters. Chu said he decided to tell the truth "so that I could face my daughter and family... and not live under the shadow for the rest of my life."

At least five other singers and TV personalities have been questioned by police in a case that began when they discovered marijuana growing in the yard of a wealthy residence owned by Cheng Po-geng. Police accused Cheng of selling marijuana to the entertainers through a night club owner, Chen Chiu-mu, whom police said sold marijuana "to over 10 entertainers."

Although marijuana is an illegal drug in Taiwan, the National Bureau of Controlled Drugs reported last week that some 60,000 Taiwanese smoke pot. Bureau Director-General Chien Chun-sheng is concerned. He said abusing marijuana causes distorted perceptions, difficulties in thinking, and makes the user "a lazybones."

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Anonymous (not verified)

Bureau Director-General Chien Chun-sheng is either an idiot or the writer of this article is. Abusing marijuana does not cause all those effects, using does. Abusing marijuana has no effect on the mental health of the user (considering that they are healthy), which is the result of all research results from the US. The stereotypical idea of a chronic user becoming lazy is proven to be false.
Also, all those effects sounds very familiar with alcohol. I don't see how the Bureau Director cannot see that marijuana users are much more functional than alcohol users.
Marijuana is not a drug. It is a plant, and is called a substance. If they smoked once, the urine test will not result in a positive. Whoever these celebrities are, they are SEVERELY ill educated about marijuana, and possibly everything else.

Tue, 03/18/2008 - 2:09am Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

When was this? The 80's when that dumb bitch started propaganda against drugs making most of them (specially marijuana) seem ALOOT worse then they really are? I want to know exactly HOW illegal marijuana is in East Asia.

Fri, 08/22/2008 - 5:45pm Permalink

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