Riau Islands Province Should Have Drug Rehab Center

Advocacy Director of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Brigadier General Anang Iskandar during a visit to Batam some time ago said, Riau Islands (Kepri) Province should have drug rehab center that rehabilitate or treat drug addicts.

Drug addicts will not be a deterrent if it only sentenced to prison, but requiring treatment or recovery from drug addiction. Drug rehab center is one form of punishment for drug addicts.

In the Republic of Indonesia Law No39 of 2009 on Eradication of Drugs noted that drug users, based on the decision of the court is obliged to undergo treatment at drug rehab center.

Implementation of this law has begun to be applied in some cases, one case of drug use involving marijuana types Andika, a vocalist Kangen Band was sentenced by a court of 6 months to treatment at drug rehab center.

Circulation and drug use in Riau Islands (Kepri) province is very high. Location of Riau Islands province, which borders with Singapore and Malaysia are often exploited by transnational drug syndicates.

Rampant circulation of drugs from abroad is revealed in some cases, especially in Batam City and Tanjung Balai Karimun, Karimun regency.

Diving the last four years, police have revealed drug distribution type shabu-shabu and ecstasy from abroad. In addition, Tanjung Balai Karimun Customs also captures several international passenger ships in the port of Tanjung Balai Karimun for smuggling thousands of ecstasy pills.

Based on data from BNN in an extension of drugs in Batam some time ago, in 2008, drug addicts in Batam and Riau Islands reach one thousand people and is predicted to continue to increase in subsequent years.

The improvement is due to the many newly emerging drug dealers and build networks with drug syndicate from abroad.

Anang said, drug dealers just keep popping up every day even if the police catch and thwart drug distribution, both captured in the harbor, hotels and places of nightlife.

"If one person uses 0.2 grams of methamphetamine per day, then there are 3.6 kilograms of methamphetamine consumed in this area every day. These numbers were incredible and the heavy duty of BNN to reduce the circulation of drugs in society," said Anang.

According to data on BNN, Riau Islands province are in the top 10 largest in the circulation of drugs in Indonesia. While in the field of dealers, Batam was ranked third after Jakarta and Manado.

Among residents welcomed the punishment for drug addicts in treatment by following the drug rehab center.

"Drug users only victims. Who should be punished is the issuers. While drug addicts should be treated at drug rehab center,'' said Indrajaya, an activist NGO in Tanjung Balai Karimun.

Drug users requires a long time about 1 to 1.5 years to rehabilitate the order is no longer addicted to drugs so they can return to society.

Generally, cases of drug users experiencing psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression.

Several steps need to be done paramedics to deal with drug users is intoxsikasi first, neutralization and mental rehabilitation.

Mental rehabilitation phase need long time and should be really good. Support from the family and the environment are also very big so they would not return to consume drugs.(kepri online daily)