Drug Abuse

INTRODUCTION

Definition

Drug abuse has a wide range of definitions, all of them relating either to the misuse or overuse of a psychoactive drug, or performance enhancing drug for a non-therapeutic or non-medical effect, or referring to any use of illegal drug in the absence of a required, yet practically impossible to get, license from a government authority. Some of the most commonly abused drugs include alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, caffeine, cannabis, cocaine, methaqualone, nicotine, opium alkaloids, and minor tranquilizers.

In the year 2002, a total of 31,893 drug addicts were detected in Malaysia compared to 31,556 in 2001 and 30,593 in 2000. Out of the 31,893, 53.5 percent of them are new cases aged between 15 and 40.

CONTENT

REASONS

Social Aspect

Most Investigations show that some people begin to take drugs due to social pressures or in response to stressing situations in their lives. People use drug because they faced family problems. For instance, if the family members are in a state of disharmony, and the parents are always fighting, the child tends to turn to drugs because he/she wants to relieve the mental stress. He/she enjoys the effects. Financial problem also play an important role. People who face financial problem will take drugs to reduce their pain. Jobless people will also turn to drugs to avoid the reality.

The mass media is also responsible in an understandable way. The media has proven to be a lot damaging than useful in the type of information meant for mature audience but end up with the immature audience. Soap operas and frivolous shows shown on TV contain immoral and untrue images of the world as it is more of the writer’s imagination or the way directors direct them to act. Most teenagers are probably old enough to watch these shows but not mature enough to comprehend with the fictitious nature of movies and soap operas. Though movies and soaps are rated, underage people are still able to access them.

Legal Aspect

Besides, people take drugs because they are not afraid to face the punishment as there are not strict rules in Malaysia about drug abuse and traffic. Moreover, the benefit of drugs trafficking is very high. The drug traffickers are willing to take the high risk.

Individual Aspect

For teenagers, the reasons are more complex. Adolescents want desperately to be accepted by their friends and are likely to imitate the behavior of their peers, including drinking and taking drugs, to gain acceptance. Kids with low self-esteem are especially susceptible. They often use alcohol and drugs to feel more comfortable around others. They can alleviate shyness and relieve nervousness.

Individuals may become dependent upon a wide variety of chemical substances that produce central nervous system effects ranging from stimulation to depression. All of these drugs have one effect in common: they are capable of creating, in certain individuals, a particular state of mind that is termed "psychic dependence ".

Some drug induces physical dependence, which is an adaptive state that manifests itself by intense physical disturbances when the administration of the drug is suspended or when its action is affected by the administration of a specific antagonist.

It seems that the same happens in relation to other psychoactive substances.

Genetic and inborn factors as well as learned and acquired factors for the drug abuse can thus be identified.

SOLUTION

Reducing Supply and Demand

Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Program

Drug treatment and rehabilitation is a good way to overcome or reduce drug abuse. The program is under the purview of the National Drugs Agency and the Prison Department, Ministry of Home Affairs. Drug users and addicts were apprehended every month and put to treatment and rehabilitation under the Drug Addiction Act 283 (Treatment and Rehabilitation) (1983) (Amendment 1998). This includes the Serenti drug treatment and rehabilitation program, the aftercare and supervision program. At present, there are 28 Serenti Drug Rehabilitation centers (DRC) in the country, providing rehabilitation service for about 9,939 drug users from various categories of addiction ranging from hardcore to new users. A total of 36,542 were placed in the non-institutional aftercare or the supervision program. Besides this, there are also drug addicts undergoing rehabilitation in the prison system (16,541), and about 930 persons who are addicted to drugs receiving treatment at clinics, hospitals and private treatment centers. Relapse rate are presently derived from the number of recurring drug users and addicts captured every month by the police, which ranges between 43.9% to 62.1%.

Besides, the Drug Rehabilitation Assistance Programme (DRAP) was created in January 2003 and touches several aspects of rehabilitating drug addicts. Through DRAP, MERCY Malaysia develops programmes for former addicts to regain their self-esteem and assist them in their re-integration into the community with psychosocial, counseling, motivational and economic related programmes.

There are four units in DRAP, namely Humanitarian and Outreach, Medical, Economic, Training and Awareness, These areas cover the various stages of recovery, from taking the addicts out of drug dependency to uplifting their self-confidence and to providing platforms to equip and enhance their skills towards gaining economic independence. Training and activities are run by experienced volunteers, and occasionally, we seek the assistance and resources of the National Drug Agency (Agensi Dadah Negara, ADK).

The DRAP programme benefits from the voluntary participation on former drug addicts, who provide valuable insight of drug addiction and the challenges that they confront during and after recovery. Gradually, the volunteers, or as we fondly refer them as �sahabat’ (which means buddy), will take on the role of training new sahabats and reformers.

Humanitarian and Outreach Programme

This programme reaches out to active drug addicts, where MERCY Malaysia volunteers, sahabats and members of ADK set out to sites frequented by the addicts. The objective is to persuade them to seek rehabilitation, and eventually, leave addiction.

Participants begin with distributing food and drinks, and slowly advance on to giving them advice on ways to overcome