Govt ponders substitute drugs to treat addicts

Govt ponders substitute drugs to treat addicts

By Fitri Wulandari

JAKARTA (JP): The government is considering distributing
disposable syringes or lighter drugs to intravenous drug users as
part of an official campaign to fight drug abuse.

Minister of Health Achmad Suyudi said on Wednesday that the
government would go ahead with the program -- in spite of the
controversy over the drug-for-drug scheme.

The "harm reduction" scheme has proven successful in the
United States and Australia, not only in reducing the number of
hard drug users, but also in preventing the spread of the deadly
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) among drug users.

"The ministry is trying to formulate a program that would be
most appropriate for Indonesia," Suyudi told The Jakarta Post
after opening a workshop on health development.

The National Committee of Drug Abuse Prevention (KP2NAPZA), a
unit of the Ministry of Health founded in July 2000 to deal with
the growing problem of drug abuse in the country, is studying the
project, he added.

Separately, KP2NAPZA chairman Broto Wasisto said the committee
was currently preparing to launch pilot projects for the program
in Jakarta and Bali.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting to evaluate KP2NAPZA's
performance, Broto said the program was crucial in helping fight
the spread of AIDS because an increasing number of intravenous
drug users had contracted Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
through careless use of the syringe.

"They are victims. They need help," he said.

About 40 percent of intravenous drug users have been found to
be infected with HIV/AIDS. The prevalence of known cases is also
rising, from three in 1998 to 415 in June 2001, according to
Ministry of Health statistics.

"Intravenous drug users with HIV/AIDS can pass the virus to
others. We have to accept that drug abuse cases will always be
here. This (program) is a realistic solution to the problem," he
said.

The harm reduction program follows two approaches: Giving
disposable needles and syringes to drug users, or substituting
heroin, the substance for intravenous drug users, with methadone,
a lighter drug that is nonaddictive.

In the U.S. and Australia, where this program has been
running, drug addicts can go to health clinics to get their
needles, syringes or drug substitutes for free.

The program offers several benefits, according to Broto:

* A participant would be in contact with a counselor, and over
time, through regular counseling, will kick the habit.

* It makes it easier for the government to monitor the number
of intravenous drug users.

* It prevents the spread of HIV/AIDS.

* It prevents drug addicts from slipping into a worse
condition.

The committee has approached several international agencies,
including the United Nations program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World
Health Organization, for possible funding.

To get the pilot project going, the committee has asked the
Fatmawati Drug Dependency Hospital in Jakarta, but it has yet to
determine the hospital in Bali, he said.

The Fatmawati Hospital said the number of drug addicts treated
there has jumped more than fivefold from 1,779 cases in 1998 to
10,743 in 2000.

Broto Wasisto said that the program could draw fire from the
public because of concerns that it might encourage more people to
use drugs.

"We are carefully studying the project by looking at the
experiences of other countries which have launched the program,"
he said.