DRUG ABUSERS TO BE TREATED AS PATIENTS

ABU DHABI - UAE authorities are considering a new tolerant approach on drug-abuse that will treat drug users as patients not criminals, a senior official has said.

Speaking on the sidelines of an exhibition on drugs, organised in the capital as part of the country's celebrations of the World Anti-Drugs Day, Lt-Col.  Abdul Rahman Al Shamsi, Head of Anti-Narcotics Department at the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police, said the Ministry of Interior was studying the new science-based approach in a bid to help drug addicts to quit the habit.

"We will be treating drug users like patients not criminals.  They are victims and we will be helping them out to give up the habit through rehabilitation and reintroduction into the society, " Lt.-Col.  Shamsi noted.

Quoting official statistics, he said drug abuse crimes dropped this year by five per cent compared to last year, attributing this to the anti-drug strategy adopted by the ministry and the assistance provided by the authorities to drug addicts to quit.

He pointed out that the President, His Highness Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's order to monitor drug addicts who have been released after quitting had helped the authorities in controlling drug menace in the country.  He added that according to Shaikh Zayed's instructions, each released addict is put under a two-year monitoring programme during which he undergoes routine tests to ensure he did not return to the habit.

The official said the UAE was earlier facing a problem of deaths among drug addicts who give up but die as a result of withdrawal symptoms.  "We were suffering a lot.  We used to find bodies lying on the street and they turn out to be addicts who had quit." He added that such cases are now very rare, thanks to the anti-drugs strategies and measures taken by the authorities.

The exhibition, organised by Abu Dhabi Police under the theme "Together towards a drugs-free society" was inaugurated by Maj.-Gen.  Mohammed Khamis Al Jinaibi, Deputy Director-General of Abu Dhabi Police.

In his inaugural remarks, Maj.-Gen.  Jinaibi said the country's national strategy had helped the authorities to fully control the situation against the spread of drugs.

He pointed out the strategy, based on preventive, curative and rehabilitation measures, had been successfully executed.

The exhibition showcases several multi-lingual booklets highlighting the health hazards posed by drugs.  Video films showing reconstruction of drug-related crimes and documentaries featuring addicts who gave up narrating their experiences are being shown.