Counseling most effective in curbing drug abuse: Granat

JAKARTA (JP): Counseling can be the most effective and inexpensive way of curbing drug abuse in the capital, the chairman of the Anti Drug National Movement (Granat) said on Thursday.

Henry Yosodiningrat called for an endless public information campaign, involving the community, including teachers and parents, to prevent people from abusing drugs.

"It isn't as complicated as we all think. It is similar to the Muslims' approach in teaching children that eating pork is forbidden. If Muslims can do it, why can't we?" Henry, a lawyer by profession, told The Jakarta Post.

He proposed that teachers and parents take five minutes each day to warn youths and children of the dangers of drug abuse.

This is a simple and cheaper method which also involves community participation, he said.

Granat estimates that there are three million drug addicts in Indonesia.

The money they spend -- assuming that each buys Rp 100,000 worth of drugs a day -- amounts to a staggering Rp 300 billion ($32 million) a day or $US11.5 billion a year.

Three people die of drug abuse each day in Indonesia, according to the movement.

"This is the tip of the iceberg," Henry said. "The actual figure is much higher and the number of users is increasing."

Public participation is necessary, he said. "We cannot rely solely on the police because they have limited personnel."

The campaign against drug abuse in Jakarta will intensify later this month with the launching of a new pilot project designed to attack the problem at the community level.

The Consortium for Drug Abuse Prevention and Eradication said on Wednesday that 15 subdistricts categorized as most prone to drug abuse have been selected for the project.

The project calls for a greater integration between the subdistrict office, the police subprecinct and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in approaching the problem of drugs, consortium chairman Imron Fadil Syam said.

Under the project, the NGOs will be involved in helping to rehabilitate victims of drugs arrested during police raids.

The consortium was set up in February by 63 NGOs actively campaigning against drug abuse. It has since established more than 1,700 posts to assist their campaign at the grassroots level.

Imron said more than 1,000 of Jakarta's 2,611 neighborhood units are listed by the consortium as prone to drug trafficking.

A neighborhood which has had at least two drug-related deaths is regarded as drug prone.

Imron said drug traffickers have widened their networks and are increasingly targeting children, even penniless street children.

The consortium's endeavor has found greater support from the community, he said.

"Many families, whose members are drug victims, are supporting the consortium in gathering funds or in counseling held at the consortium's posts throughout the city," he said. (06)