Bali to get pilot drug prevention program
Bali to get pilot drug prevention program
JAKARTA (JP): Bali has been chosen as the province for a pilot
drug addiction prevention project in Indonesia, a medical expert
said yesterday.
Tony Setiabudhi, a lecturer from Trisakti university and
involved in the project, said at a workshop that because Bali was
a transit area and market base for international illegal drug
trafficking it was considered the appropriate place for the
project.
The workshop, held by Bersama Foundation, discussed the
methods and objectives of primary prevention for the country's
drug abusers, the problem is to be addressed at a household
level.
Tony, a psychiatrist, said the project which begins next year
is a model that could be applied in other parts of Indonesia,
with any necessary modifications needed to ensure its success to
being made by the government.
He said the project's objectives include local support for
treatment services, after-care and social reintegration after
treatment and rehabilitation, education on drug abuse for local
communities and promoting effective, low-cost strategies on
preventive and treatment services.
The project aims to empower the victims through community
support rather than stigmatizing them as the perpetrators of drug
abuse, he said.
Tony said the project has prepared special research workers
from the Denpasar-based Udayana University to train teachers in
preventing drug abuse among the students.
He said the researchers would use scientific measures to
account for the results.
The project will be implemented in cooperation with Bakolak, a
government body in charge of handling drug abuse and juvenile
delinquency.
There is no regular statistical data available on drug abuse
in Indonesia but the Drug Dependence Hospital in Jakarta recently
released a report on the conditions of its 72 patients.
The report said that 94 percent smoked tobacco, 82 percent
drank alcohol, 82 percent took stimulants and 78 percent used
marijuana. Their addictions stemmed from stress.
It said the patients reported they felt relaxed. Of the 72
patients, 51 percent said they obtained the feeling from tobacco
smoking, 56 percent from drinking alcohol, 62 percent from
smoking marijuana and 52 percent from taking stimulants.
The total number of drug abuse victims in Indonesia was not
stated in the report. Tony said the relapse rate for Indonesia's
drug abusers was 60 percent.
Tony said that in addition to this project, psychiatric wards
of hospitals are required to provide drug rehabilitation and
treatment services.
Throughout the conference, participants stressed the need for
tailor-made programs instead of a one-size-fits-all approach to
preventing drug abuse in their countries, especially programs
with active local community involvement. (01)