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)