Extended use of drugs and drug addiction can have severe risks for users, a drug official warned Monday.
"It may help you in the short term, but it makes you useless in the future," said Thong Sokunthea, deputy chief of rehabilitation at the National Anti-Drug Authority. "When you use it, for a short time, it's OK. It can help us forget suffering or sadness or complications. But after a long time, you can't find money to buy, and it leads to many other problems."
The Cambodian agency is working to combat increased drug use in Cambodia, by educating people and attacking supply and demand, Thong Sokunthea said, as a guest on "Hello VOA."
Drug addiction is hard to cure, he added.
Cambodia faces a threat from many types of drugs, including methamphetamines, Ecstasy, "yama," heroin and cocaine.