A drug withdrawal programme for drug users, carried out by professional rehabilitation institutes, should be the main aim of the government and its agencies prior to the proposed reform of the laws on drug abuse.

The 340,000 free syringes given out from health centres, the 148 cases of drug overdoses treated at Mater Dei since the beginning of this year, the hundreds of people attending the methadone centre in Guardamanga and the lack of social workers, psychologists and probation officers to deal with drug-related crimes do not augur well for the law reform being proposed by the government.

It seems that drug users are still finding enough supplies on the market despite huge amounts of drugs being confiscated by the police and customs officials.

The government’s main priority should be the establishment of drug rehabilitation centres similar to that of Caritas to cater for the many drug abusers keen to start rehabilitation programmes.

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