Taiwanese Entertainers Admit Marijuana Use and Apologize

[Wilbur]

Two well-known entertainers yesterday confessed to smoking marijuana and extended their apology to the public for trying earlier to conceal their misdeeds.

Tuo Chung-kang and Chu Chung-hen were among seven local entertainers questioned by police last week about their alleged drug use. All seven denied smoking marijuana and were released on bail pending an investigation.

Tuo, a variety show host, told a press conference that he did smoke marijuana in Thailand and the Philippines when he visited the two countries early this year, but didn't take the second-grade "soft drug" in Taiwan as alleged.

"I was abroad and so I thought I could relax and have some fun," Tuo said. "I was too naive and I feel bad about it." Chu, an actor and variety show host, told a separate news conference that 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 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."

Police said if the entertainers' urine tests turned out positive, they could be sent to a rehabilitation center for up to two months.

Last week, several more actors and singers, including Chang Li-wei, Hong Chi-teh, Huang Chung-kun, and Hsiao Shu-shen were also interrogated by the police and investigators on their alleged drug use. They all denied the allegation.

Despite the fact that marijuana is an illicit narcotic in Taiwan, over 60,000 people abuse the second-grade "soft drug," making it the third most abused drug among Taiwan's youth, according to the National Bureau of Controlled Drugs under the Cabinet-level Department of Health. Although it is within the Ministry of Justice's authority to decide whether the drug should be legalized for medical purposes, it has not been legalized for fear there would be no end to trouble caused by such a policy.



Newshawk: User - 420 Magazine
Source: The China Post
Pubdate: 11 December 2006
Copyright: 2006 The China Post
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