Drug addicts get relief
(eastday.com)
Updated: 2004-06-24 10:07

Shanghai is going to provide drug-relief therapy to addicts in designated medical facilities to combat drug abuse and curb the spread of AIDS, officials said yesterday.

The working plan is still under discussion and the clinics have not been selected yet.

"The government is studying who, how and where to receive the therapy," said He Xijin, an official from Shanghai Ziqiang Social Service Center, Shanghai's first group helping drug addicts. "Young people must be forced to get rid of their addiction, while severe addicts that suffer from withdrawal must be protected to maintain social stability."

China began a pilot trial in Yunnan, Sichuan, Zhejiang and Guizhou provinces as well as the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region last year. They gave heroin addicts adanon, an opium-type oral medicine, as a narcotics substitute to alleviate their addiction and prevent AIDS through needle sharing.

"The central government has decided to promote the program in big provinces and cities and Shanghai is on the list," He said.

By taking adanon, addicts can satisfy their craving, remain under control and give up drugs gradually, officials added.

Experts said adanon is cheap and effective - one dosage can last 24 to 36 hours.

A citywide monitoring system will also be established to follow addicts and prevent them from taking more than one dose of adanon at a time. Neighborhood officials hailed the new therapy and claimed there is no effective method to fight against drug addiction at present.

"We have four or five legal social workers to cover anti-drug tasks," said He Quan from Wuliqiao Subdistrict in Luwan District.

"Normally, social workers visit addicts regularly, provide education and introduce them to jobs. But it is difficult to monitor them all the time and persuade them to give up drugs."

Neighborhood officials monitor addicts in the early stage and try to get them to abstain from taking drugs at home for three months. Repetitive or serious addicts will be sent to a compulsory rehabilitation center.

There are about 17,000 registered drug addicts in the city, while officials said the true figure was anywhere from four to eight times higher. Meanwhile, the Shanghai railway police announced yesterday they have arrested 642 suspected drug dealers and seized 6,894 grams of heroin so far this year.

Authorities said they have so far solved 538 drug trafficking cases - 36 of which were regarded as major.

Railway stations and carriages are one of the main areas police watch in the battle against drugs. Narcotics are found in shoe heels, cooking pots and women's underwear, according to Zhang Guangqi, spokesman of the railway police department.

Zhang said it was common for drug dealers to hire others to transport narcotics.

At about 8pm on May 25, a male suspect, surnamed Zhang, was carrying 1,000 grams of heroin on a train heading to Shanghai from Kunming, Yunnan, and was captured by railway police.

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