President George Abela has called for a conference grouping government representatives, judges, carers and other interested parties to discuss how Malta should best deal with drug abuse victims.

Speaking late yesterday at the Caritas Centre in San Blas, where a number of former addicts graduated from their rehabilitation programme, Dr Abela said he agreed with those who argued that incarceration may not be the best way to deal with drug addicts who have recovered and do not pose a risk to society.

The issue, he said, needed to be studied in depth by the people involved in the sector.

Dr Abela said the fight against drug trafficking and abuse was a difficult and complex one. It needed substantial funds, trained people, determination and dedication.

Despite everything that the authorities were doing, one should not deceive himself into thinking that the fight was being won, since drugs were still being imported and trafficked under various forms in all sectors of society.

Last year alone, 644 people sought help from Caritas to recover from drug and alcohol abuse. This was a big number, and many others did not seek help, or sought help elsewhere.

He noted that the biggest incidence of drug abuse was in the inner harbour area, and this appeared to be linked to low living and education standards. Clearly, more work meeded tobe done to lift this area from its state of social problems.

Dr Abela said that the Community Chest Fund was playing its part and was allocating €50,000 for a study and education campaign to help people make the right choices for sustainable lifestyles, including the way they spent their money.

The Community Chest Fund has also allocated €20,000 for the "Ngħinu l-Fqir fil-
Komunità" project by Caritas Malta which helps people in need.

The fight against drugs, Dr Abela said, needed to be won not only by defeating the traffickers, but also by educating young people about the harm which drugs caused.

He underlined the importance of schools and the media in this regard and also praised Caritas and other agencies for their work.