Health experts promote drug recovery<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The group of high school students sat on the
\nfloor near the entrance of the hospital. They chatted, laughed
\nand once in a while some of them puffed on their cigarettes. The
\nyoungsters were all clad in their white-and-gray uniforms and
\ncarried their school bags. It is about 10 a.m. on Wednesday, a
\ntime when they are supposed to be in class, so why were they in
\nthe hospital, when none of them looked sick?<\/p>\n
\"We are here to ask for a letter to clarify that we don't use
\ndrugs,\" one of them said.<\/p>\n
The hospital they were visiting is the Drug Dependency
\nHospital, located in the compound of Fatmawati Hospital in
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Our teacher suspects that we use drugs. Therefore we must get
\nthe letter. Otherwise, we will be expelled from school,\" another
\nstudent said.<\/p>\n
Drugs in schools are not an uncommon occurrence. They are easy
\nto obtain; with Rp 10,000 or Rp 15,000 you can get a small
\npackage of putauw (low-grade heroin) that is enough to make you
\nhigh, the student said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
She admitted that she used to take putauw, but stopped the
\nhabit because she did not want to drop out from school.<\/p>\n
At the hospital, the students had their urine tested. If the
\nresult was negative, they would get the paper saying that they
\nwere free from drugs.<\/p>\n
Such a piece of paper might be effective in preventing people
\nfrom taking drugs, but only temporarily.<\/p>\n
According to Dr. Sudirman, the hospital director, the result
\nwould be positive if one took heroine a week before the test. If
\none takes ganja (marijuana), the result would be positive if the
\nuser had had the drug in the month before the test.<\/p>\n
Not taking drugs for a week, a month or even a year does not
\nguarantee that one would not take them again.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sudirman said that former users are expected to abandon
\ndrugs for good if they are able to stop using their drug of
\naddiction within a period of a 1,000 days.<\/p>\n
\"If they do not use the drug for 1,000 days, we could expect
\nthem to be totally recovered. But if during the period they are
\ntempted to take the drug, it is likely that the recovery process
\nwill take a longer time,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Why do people take drugs?<\/p>\n
Dr. Sudirman said that according to the popular psychic health
\ntheory, there are three factors: the biological organ, the
\npsycho-educative factor and the sociocultural environment.<\/p>\n
\"Even though your environment stimulates you to take drugs, if
\nyou have a strong biological organ, if you have a good brain, you
\nwon't be influenced. But if you cannot think clearly, if you
\ncannot make the decision based on careful consideration, you will
\nbe influenced.<\/p>\n
\"This also depends on the psycho-educative factor which shapes
\nthe patient, how he or she responds to the stimulant. If the
\npatient has a weak psycho-educative factor, she or he will have a
\nweak personality and will be easily influenced by the
\nenvironment,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another theory, based on the public health view, says there
\nmust be three factors in drug abuse: the hostess or the user, the
\nagent or the substance and the environment.<\/p>\n
In reality, however, Dr. Sudirman finds that the most common
\nreason that make people take drugs is \"the adventure of young
\npeople\".<\/p>\n
\"Young people are in a critical situation. They are in the
\nprocess of changing from a child to an adult. Many of them have a
\nweak mentality and are easily influenced by the environment,\" he
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has reportedly 1.3 million drug abusers and addicts,
\nmostly young people. Even though the government has on many
\noccasions declared a war against drugs, the problem remains.<\/p>\n
\"It is quite a serious problem. There are a growing number of
\ndrug users, as reflected in the number of patients visiting
\nhospitals or doctors,\" said Dr. Sudirman.<\/p>\n
In 1996, the Drug Dependency Hospital recorded more than 1,500
\nvisits; the number increased to 3,500 in the following year. In
\n1998 it was over 5,000, and as of September of this year, it had
\nrecorded a bigger number -- about 6,000.<\/p>\n
\"Drug users are not criminals. We must not treat them like
\ncriminals,\" said Dr. Sudirman, who learned a lot from Malaysia,
\nwhere drug abusers are regarded as people who need love and care
\nrather than punishment and rejection.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, not all understand this philosophy. Which
\nexplains why many schools expel students who are found using
\ndrugs, he said.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sudirman said that most of his patients do not have to
\nstay in the hospital. They pay frequent visits, once every week
\nor two, for the treatment.<\/p>\n
\"We check their condition and see if they make improvements,
\nwe also check whether they have strong intentions of giving up
\nthe drugs, how their family supports them, etc. We also give them
\ncounseling.<\/p>\n
\"If the patients have been using the drugs for years, we
\nsuggest that they stay here for detoxification to clean the
\ntoxins which have been accumulating in their body.\"<\/p>\n
That process takes from one week to two weeks. The treatment
\ndoes not end with the detoxification. Physically they are fine,
\nbut there are still other problems, that is the psychological and
\nsocial factors.<\/p>\n
A process of stabilization is needed. They must be prepared to
\ncome back to society. This process covers two things: medical
\nrehabilitation and social rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
The hospital deals with the medical rehabilitation and pre-
\nsocial rehabilitation. The rest is handled by rehabilitation
\ncenters.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sudirman said that due to the high demand, there were
\ngrowing numbers of rehabilitation centers.<\/p>\n
\"We have dozens of such centers in Jakarta and hundreds of
\nothers throughout the country,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Some Muslim boarding houses run programs to help drug addicts.
\nThere are also many non-governmental organizations and
\nindividuals, including ex-addicts or their families, who run
\nrecovery centers. Among them are Yayasan Harapan Permata Hati
\nKita, Yayasan Respati and Wisma Adiksi.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sudirman, the husband of senior TVRI presenter Tengku
\nMalinda, said that the Drug Dependency Hospital, established in
\n1969, was initially a foundation. It was developed into a
\nhospital in 1972. The 1,300-square-meter hospital has a capacity
\nof 38 beds.<\/p>\n
Due to growing demands for its services, there are plans to
\nbuild a new hospital on a 13,000-square-meter plot in Cibubur,
\nEast Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"We have acquired the land and the master plan is ready,\" he
\nsaid, adding that the project was jointly handled by the Ministry
\nof Health and the City administration. (sim)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/health-experts-promote-drug-recovery-1447893297",
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