SINGAPORE – Despite criticism against Singapore and international tolerance in attitudes towards drug abuse, the Republic will continue to take a very tough line in its war against drug abuse.
Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said this on March 12 at the Community Resilience Against Drug Abuse Roundtable 2026 held at Furama RiverFront hotel.
Citing the World Drug Report 2025, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said 292 million people worldwide used drugs in 2022. This figure jumped to about 316 million in 2023.
He said that while many countries had either given up on the fight against drugs or were planning to legalise drugs, Singapore had done the opposite by continuing to be tough on drugs.
And the young here support this, he said.
In his speech, Mr Shanmugam referred to the 2025 National Drug Perception Survey, which showed that nearly 93 per cent of youth respondents and more than 96 per cent of adult respondents said Singapore should continue to maintain its tough laws to keep drugs out of the country.
Also, support among youth respondents had increased since the last survey in 2023. More than 87 per cent of youth respondents said in 2025 that they see the harms and consequences of drug abuse, compared with about 83 per cent in 2023.
For adult respondents, the 2025 figure was about 90 per cent.
Added Mr Shanmugam: “The survey data is extremely heartening. It shows that when the Government takes the leadership, has clear policy, it articulates it, has community support… Effective public education can bring across to our people the harms of drugs.
“And people then are prepared to support our tough policy.”
Singapore’s stringent policy means upholding the death penalty for capital offences such as trafficking large amounts of drugs.
