Misuse of Drugs Act (Singapore)

The law is designed specifically to grant the Government of Singapore, through its agencies such as the Central Narcotics Bureau, enforcement powers to combat offences such as the trafficking, importation or exportation, possession, and consumption of controlled drugs.

MX pills were freely available and widely abused a recreational drug, while cannabis smoking became more widespread as the hippie culture became popular.

[2][3] As Singapore is a small island nation with no exportable natural resources, its economic model at the time was based on added-value activities (such as factory work or sea-bourne cargo logistics) from an industrious and efficient society, which the possibility of a large percentage of the population becoming unproductive due to drug addiction posed an enormous economic threat.

The Government of Singapore responded with a zero tolerance policy regarding the abuse of all types of drugs, aiming to rapidly contain the sudden heroin epidemic via new laws that proscribed harsh punishments for both traffickers (such as the death penalty) and consumers (including caning) alike.

Usually for the young men, they will turn to all sorts of crimes and, for the girls, to prostitution to get money to buy their badly needed supply of drugs.