Expert urges conversion of drug rehabilitation centres into Health Ministry hospitals

PETALING JAYA: Consider converting nationwide drug rehabilitation centres handled by the National Anti-Drugs Agency into Health Ministry hospitals, says drug reform policy expert.

Prof Dr Mohamad Hussain Habil said this following the second reading of proposed amendments to the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983 in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (July 3).

He said converting the centres into hospitals allowed those affected to receive medical aid by qualified healthcare workers.

“This is evidence-based. The patients have already gone through so much, hence why they may have entangled themselves with drugs.

“When we mention decriminalising drug dependants, we have to change the ways they are treated, which is by medical professionals,” said the professor in psychiatry and addiction treatment at the Mahsa University medicine faculty.

“Anti-drugs agency officers can play their part in counselling,” he added.

Dr Mohamad Hussain, who is also an advisor to the Universiti Malaya Centre for Addiction Science Studies (UMCAS), stressed that Health Ministry healthcare workers possess expertise in managing drug dependents.

“Medical intervention is very important and shown to be much cheaper and effective alongside lower relapse rates. The intervention also has to be community-based and backed by science,” he said.

He added that these suggestions had already been raised during previous engagements with the Health Ministry.

Dr Mohamad Hussain voiced concerns about how doctors treating patients for drug dependants had to report them to the anti-drugs agency under the proposed amendments.

“This can drive people away from seeking help when early intervention is a very important aspect,” he said.

He said a majority of those incarcerated in prisons or rehabilitation centres are also from poor communities.

“When they come out, there is also a stigma towards them. There are also cases where teens are sometimes incarcerated before finishing school, which is why we asked for decriminalisation,” he said.

Dr Muhamad Hussain called on the government not to bulldoze through the Bill.

“Don’t pass it immediately. Consider input previously proposed from addiction specialists and experts,” he said.

Amendments to the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act were tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (July 2).

The amendments, tabled by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, aim to widen the scope of treatment and rehabilitation for addicts.

On Wednesday, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah tabled the amendment a second time.