Antidrug campaign targets students

Antidrug campaign targets students

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a move to tackle the alarming increase in drug abuse among
students, a team of doctors of city-owned Duren Sawit Hospital in
East Jakarta held on Monday an impromptu urine test for students
of State High School (SMU) 4 on Jl. Batu 3, Central Jakarta.

"The urine test is meant to screen those students who have
been misusing drugs, but the result of the test won't carry any
legal or administrative penalties for students with positive
results," said program chairman Nur Seto.

Nur asserted that students who tested positive had to be
considered as victims, rather than criminals.

The test results would be given directly to the school, which
would then contact the respective parents.

"We'll leave the follow-up to school authorities and parents.
But, of course, we'll recommend treatment," said Nur.

Nur said similar impromptu urine tests would be conducted at
three other high schools in the city over the next two weeks.

The team of doctors conducted tests for over 230 students at
SMU 4.

Headmaster La Ode Fudjudu said that a consensus had been made
between the school and parents that students who tested positive
would not be expelled.

"That's why we're conducting the urine test for first-year
students, who are mostly below the age of 18, so that they are
provided a more educational approach rather than a legal approach
by penalizing them," La Ode said.

Reports said that the rate of drug abuse among students had
reached an alarming level, and that it had even affected
elementary school students.

City police said earlier last month that 30 elementary school
students had been arrested for drug abuse in the first five
months of this year.

Antidrug foundation Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB) reported
last year that eight out of every 100 students in a survey
conducted from 2000 to 2002 involving thousands of students from
11 cities across the country admitted they had experimented with
drugs.

The latest official report about drug abuse in schools from
the Ministry of National Education spanning the period between
1999 to 2000 showed that a total of 1,015 students from 166 high
schools in Jakarta took drugs. Of the total, 315 students had
been expelled from their schools because they were also dealing
drugs.

Another YCAB survey showed that once a person became addicted,
it was difficult for them to get off of drugs, and that around 90
percent of addicts who have gone through rehabilitation relapse.

Dr. Agus Solichien, a neurologist who was part of the testing
team on Monday, explained that drug rehabilitation did not come
cheap.

A drug addict, Agus said, must undergo at least six months of
intensive treatment to kick the habit at a fee of Rp 3 million
each month (US$365), or at least Rp 18 million, exclusive of
other related fees such as a detoxification fee.