AFKAR

Chairing a Round Table entitled
“Drug Addiction: Is the drug addict a criminal or an ill person?”
Oghassabian: For More Care Centers and Against Imprisoning the Drug Addicts with the Criminals

The Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Jean Oghassabian said that the Lebanese law relevant to narcotics places the drug addiction in a middle distance between illness and crime, while more care centers should be established to treat and follow-up the drug addicts. The minister refused the imprisonment of the drug addicts along with criminals, thieves and drug dealers in conventional jails, considering that to be an additional cause for them to take drugs.

Oghassabian was speaking during a round table held in the Grand Sérail under the title “The Drug Addict: Is He In Conflict with the Law or In Need of Treatment?”


                                                              The audience

The meeting is the third of eight seminars tackling issues relevant to the Lebanese civil society, organized by Émergences Foundation, within Afkar II program, funded by EU and managed by OMSAR. It was attended by representatives of NGOs and civil society associations concerned with the treatment and follow-up of drug addicts.

The meeting opened with the national anthem. Following that, the coordinator of Afkar program, Ms. Youmna Chacar Ghorayeb, underlined that “the objective of the round table is to shed light on the problem of addiction that threatens our society and to draw an objective picture of the situation a drug addict is in in Lebanon. Who is he? How can he be treated? To what extent can he be rehabilitated and integrated in the society? How does the Lebanese law define the word “drug addict”? How does the Lebanese law, in letter and practice, deal with him?”
Ms. Ghorayeb hoped that the meeting would open new horizons for a better future for those yielding or who might be exposed to the temptation of addiction, to protect them from the risks this plight entails.

The Head of the Department of Operations in the European Commission in Lebanon, Mr. Jussi Narvy, discussed the fight against drug addiction within the European Union. He highlighted that the expenses related to narcotics amount nowadays to 36 billion euros, adding that the EU is spending more than 750 million euros to take the appropriate measures with the aim of controlling the demand and supply of drugs in the neighboring and drug producing countries. He praised, in this regard, the existing cooperation between the non-governmental organizations and the Lebanese government in the fight against drug addiction.

As for the minister Jean Oghassabian, he said “we could hold this meeting in the premises of the Ministry of State for Administrative Reform or in any other venue. However, due to the prevailing circumstances we are gathered in the Grand Sérail. We hope that the situation will change, a president will be elected and a new government formed so that we will hand over to them”. He continued “the question that is asked today is the following: Where is Lebanon going? The responsibilities can not be split; all the Lebanese wherever they are, whether in power or outside the power, bear the responsibility of saving their nation. The issue that is raised today during this round table brings forth the problematic of the drug addict. It is well known that a drug addict lives on the fringe of life, threatened by his mental, psychological and physical health conditions. Most of the time, he is jobless and unproductive. His need to narcotics may transform him into a criminal, a violent person, or even a partner in drug dealing. Hence, the following question is asked: Is the drug addict a criminal or an ill person? The Lebanese law places the drug addiction in a middle distance between illness and crime, and opens the way for treating the drug addict instead of condemning him automatically to imprisonment. However, a gap is created by the lack of care centers that treat and follow-up the drug addicts. Filling this gap is the only way towards the treatment of drug addicts, so as to prevent their imprisonment in conventional jails along with criminal, thieves and drug dealers, which can be an additional cause for them to take drugs. In this regard, I would like to praise the role played by the NGOs in helping treating the drug addict persons. However, there is a need for more specialized associations and the creation of special sanitaria to treat this plight”.


                                                         Minister Oghassabia and the speakers

Furthermore, the minister emphasized that the successive Lebanese governments spared no effort, since the end of 90s, to put an end to drug production and trafficking and to sue the drug-dealers. Oghassabian continued “here lies the responsibility of the security services that are in charge of fighting against all kinds of drugs, suing the dealers, and sanctioning the traffickers, to eliminate the conditions that will facilitate the buying and traffic of narcotics. The addiction is a dangerous plague whose adverse consequences will not only affect the drug addict, but also his family, environment and the society as a whole. This meeting will shed light on how to deal wisely with the drug addict, so that he will abstain from taking drugs and become a productive member in the society. This mission requires a collective responsibility, starting from the family to the civil society associations, to the State authorities and security services”.
Oghassabian concluded by thanking the EU for supporting and financing the program, praising in particular the activities carried out by the NGOs, the members of which are dedicating themselves to purifying the society.
He noted that such citizens remain the main wager for the continuation of Lebanon, which, thanks to its free citizens, will remain a free, sovereign, and independent country and protector of the human rights and freedoms.

Working Session:

The judge Mekana: The law in letter and practice

During the working session, the judge Ziad Mekana approached the law relevant to addiction, in letter and practice. He explained that law 673 relevant to narcotics promulgated in 1998 makes a distinction between the drug addicts and their counterparts who infringe the laws. However he noted that he who studies the terms of the above law and considers their human and social dimensions as to the treatment of a drug addict can only feel sorry. The social workers in the care and treatment centers witness that this law, though a decade elapsed since its promulgation, did not achieve the objectives it was drafted for, because of the absence of the conditions that enable its efficient and total implementation. The judiciary bodies are being confused each time the file of a drug addict is submitted to them. Should they keep him in custody with the criminals, thieves and drug dealers, to let him get out after that only with more problems? Should they let him go without stipulating his release with him having treatment, which gives him way to take drugs as soon as he is released? Or should his parents try to find him a vacant place in a center, where he can be treated? While this place should be from the beginning available, and the court should take the immediate decision to send the defendant there, sparing him and his family the inconvenience of looking for a place where he can be treated, as the law relevant to narcotics imposes upon the State to provide the drug addict with treatment in a care center and bear the expenses of the treatment? Unfortunately, we should recognize that the difficulty of providing treatment conditions empties the law relevant to narcotics of the parts of its content that are related to treatment and care. The judge asked in this regard: “Is the drug addict in conflict with the law?” He added “certainly he is not so, for the law, though considers his deed to be a crime, treats him as an ill person, and exempts him from being sued or condemned if he submits to treatment. However, getting treatment is very difficult because of the lack of the necessary means. Therefore, many articles of the above law can not be implemented, which enters the drug addict as a consequence in a conflict with the lack of the adequate conditions to implement the law and not in conflict with the law. He continued that the drug addict needs treatment. The more treatment means are available, the more he becomes willing and brave to face his addiction. The more he sees the treatment as a goal he can not reach the more he refrains from it and give up to addiction. Hence, it is necessary to activate the provisions of the narcotics law relevant to the treatment of drug addict persons, and to find the necessary ways that will make it a reality instead of letting them be mere technical texts; a reality that will convince the drug addict that if he tries to reach it he will be embraced by the State’s institutions and the specialized centers that have the capacity to lead their mission to success; a reality that will allow the drug addict who is in the same time a “criminal” and “victim” to be acquitted from the consequences of his criminal deed, and to compensate for him and his family and for what they suffered during his addiction period. He hoped that this objective will be achieved as soon as possible.

The role of the Office for the Fight against Drugs:
The Head of the Office for the Fight against Drugs, General Michel Chaccour, explained the role of the police in controlling the use of drugs. He said that the main mission consists of reducing exposure through the prohibition of the plantation, production, and traffic of drugs. It also strives to reduce the demand through awareness programs and other programs aiming at treating the drug addicts with the cooperation of specialized NGOs. He added that the Office for the Fight against Drugs acts upon a program that aims to raise awareness against the risks emanating from narcotics with a view of encouraging the drug addicts to get automatically treatment before being arrested or sued.

The Healthcare Association:
In his turn, the Head of the Healthcare Association, Mr.Elie Aaraj, broached the addiction problem in Lebanon. He pinpointed that Lebanon is still a country that produces narcotics and a passageway to drugs. He added that the number of persons taking drugs is continuously increasing, and the age segment of drug-takers is 14-19. He described the addiction as a chronicle disease, stressing the importance of taking care of the addict person who has the right to live with dignity. He furthermore noted that the Lebanese law lacks applicable decrees, despite the fact that a decade elapsed since it was promulgated.

Oum el Nour Organization:
Nabil Wehbé from Oum el Nour Organization explained how to take care, treat and rehabilitate the drug addict person based on the experience of the organization, which is an NGO where volunteers dedicated themselves to take care of drug addict persons. He underlined that Oum el Nour provides treatment for free, despite the fact that the cost of the treatment for each individual ranges between 1000 and 1500US$ per month. Wehbé added that these amounts are collected thanks to the support of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Affairs, foreign and local contributions and activities carried out by the organization. Wehbé noted that the treatment within the center includes four phases: welcome, rehabilitation, follow-up, and the parents. He explained that the rehabilitation program takes between twelve and fifteen months. The drug addict can reintegrate in the society starting from the 6th month of rehabilitation. As for the follow-up program, it is extended over two years, where the former addict persons meet once a week together to prevent against the use of drugs.