RAMALLAH, West Bank — Mohammed Mohammed, who prefers to go by the pseudonym, is not ashamed to talk about his experiences of drug abuse. He was working as a construction worker in Israel when someone first gave him some hash to try.
Mohammed, 31, makes around 5,000 shekels a month (about $2,000) from his construction work and spends it all on drugs. Although Palestinian police have arrested him five times — he spent less than a month in jail each time — he has not stopped consuming drugs.