Meeting of the High Council for the Fight Against Addiction

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Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdağ said, “After the High Council for the Fight Against Addiction was established, we quickly drafted the relevant legislation. “First, the 2018–2023 Strategy Document and Action Plan for Combating Drug Abuse is currently available as a draft,” he said.

The High Council for the Fight Against Addiction, chaired by Akdağ, held its first meeting of the year in the conference room of the Ministry of Development.

At the meeting, Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, Minister of Labor and Social Security Jülide Sarıeroğlu, Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba, Minister of the Interior Süleyman Soylu, Minister of Finance Naci Ağbal, Minister of National Education İsmet Yılmaz, Minister of Health Ahmet Demircan, Chairman of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Health Committee Necdet Ünüvar, Chairman of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) İlhan Yerlikaya, President of the Turkish Yeşilay Society Mücahit Öztürk, Member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Yeşilay Society Esra Albayrak, and bureaucrats from the relevant agencies were in attendance.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Akdağ noted that the High Council for the Fight Against Drugs, established on November 13, 2014, had ensured that significant steps were taken over the past three years to combat drugs, which pose a threat to the country, its youth, and its people.

Akdağ, noting that following the establishment of the High Council for the Fight Against Drugs, the World Health Organization had cited Turkey’s approach and plans as a model for other countries, said, “The issue of addiction is a very serious problem that threatens all young people and society worldwide. “Addiction is a condition that negatively affects both the health of individuals and society, on the one hand, and the peace, public order, economy, and social life of that society, on the other,” he said.

Noting that a holistic approach to combating addiction has become increasingly widespread in Europe and many other parts of the world, particularly over the past 10 years, Akdağ announced that Turkey has prepared its plans in this regard for a five-year period spanning 2018–2023.

– “Addiction should be addressed within a holistic framework”

Akdağ noted that the fight against addiction addresses tobacco, alcohol, drug, and gambling addictions, as well as addiction resulting from the misuse of technology, within a comprehensive framework, and continued as follows:

“This comprehensive approach is, in fact, the one that will secure our future. Following the establishment of the High Council for the Fight Against Addiction, we swiftly drafted the relevant legislation. First, the 2018–2023 Drug Control Strategy Document and Action Plan is currently available in draft form. We will discuss this draft and the action plans at today’s meeting. In the coming months, at roughly one-month intervals, we will also finalize our five-year strategy documents on other addiction-related issues. Regarding all these documents, our 12 ministries and relevant institutions have conducted very serious work at the technical level. Policy labs were established, and work continued for days on end. There are certainly issues that require collaboration among different ministries. There are also issues that a specific ministry or agency must develop on its own. Therefore, we have the draft on drugs ready. We will have the others prepared at one-month intervals by the summer.”

Akdağ said that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Food, Agriculture, and Livestock, and Transportation, Maritime Affairs, and Communications had also been added to the High Council for the Fight Against Addiction.

– Street-level efforts have been strengthened in 50 provinces

Akdağ, who also provided information on past efforts to combat drug use, stated that the organizational structure and staffing levels of the agencies responsible for preventing drugs from entering the market had been strengthened, and that their technical equipment capabilities had been expanded.

Regarding narco-terrorism, Akdağ noted that security forces have achieved significant success in combating illegal cultivation and added that street-level efforts have also been strengthened through the establishment of task forces in 50 provinces.

Akdağ, who stated that customs checkpoints and borders have been strengthened in terms of technical equipment and manpower, said that penalties have been increased for those engaged in this activity as part of what could be described as a cartel, gang, or organization.

Akdağ stated that the mandatory reporting requirement had been lifted for healthcare professionals regarding individuals who seek treatment on their own initiative, noting that this was an important measure in encouraging people with substance use disorders to seek treatment.

Akdağ also noted that educational programs on addiction are provided to families, young people, and students, and that Yeşilay has developed modules tailored to each age group.

– “We will have completed three separate projects by the end of April”

Akdağ, announcing that the fight against drugs in the new period will be carried out under four main headings, said, “One of these is combating supply. The second is combating demand; the third is counseling, treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration services; and the fourth is communication regarding this issue. We will have specific requests for the media, particularly regarding communication.”

Akdağ, noting that statements had been made regarding the prevalence of drug use in Turkey, said:

“We don’t have any very clear figures, especially regarding our youth, aside from a study conducted by our Ministry of the Interior in 2011. Therefore, by the end of April this year, we will have completed three separate studies. One of these is a study on prevalence among those over the age of 15, conducted by our Ministry of the Interior. This is a household-based survey. Household-based surveys have certain limitations—you’re going directly to families to ask questions—but since similar surveys are conducted worldwide, they’re important for making comparisons. In addition, for the 14–19 age group, we are conducting a study in our high schools in collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Social Policies and the Ministry of National Education. The Ministry of Family and Social Policies is also conducting a study for the 19–25 age group. The studies we are conducting with these younger age groups are carried out using an anonymous survey method.”

Noting that there are different definitions of the frequency of drug use, Akdağ stated the following:

“Having tried it at least once in one’s life is one definition. But that doesn’t mean the person uses drugs. Having used it in the past year is a second definition. That, too, doesn’t mean the person uses drugs. Having used it in the past month is a third definition. This is what shows us that the risk has increased. There is a concept called ‘chronic use,’ but that doesn’t fully equate to addiction either. Therefore, after gathering all this information, we will track the results of our efforts year by year using the indicators we’ve established based on these findings.”

Akdağ stated that the next few years will be years of mobilization for Turkey in the fight against drugs.

Deputy Prime Minister Akdağ emphasized that the 2018–2023 Strategy Document and Action Plan for Combating Drugs will be presented to Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once they have been finalized.

Following Akdağ’s remarks, the meeting continued behind closed doors.

 

Source:

http://www.haberturk.com/yerel-haberler/14613925-bagimlilikla-mucadele-yuksek-kurulu-toplantisi

Proposal for a New Institution to Combat Substance Abuse

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Grand National Assembly of Turkey – YILDIZ AKTAŞ

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Rector of Üsküdar University, proposed the establishment of an institution—similar tothe“EPDK” or “TMSF“—that could centrally manage policies related to substance abuse in the fight against addiction.

In a statement to an AA reporter, Tarhan said that he had given a presentation on substance abuse to the Turkish Grand National Assembly’s Commission on Substance Abuseand had submitted a report outlining the problems and proposed solutions.

Tarhan, who stated that establishing such a commission on substance abuse would be very appropriate, said that substance use affects the brain’s plasticity and causes damage to the brain by disrupting its chemical structure.

Tarhan, noting that brain damage can be measured using neuroimaging techniques, drew attention to the fact that adolescence in particular is a high-risk period for addiction and stated that research focused on early adolescence should be expanded.

Tarhan, noting that during the period when young people are searching for their identity—and in the process of seeking attachment and a sense of belonging—they can turn substances into objects of attachment, recalled that the report on substance addiction published by the Presidential State Audit Board in 2014 recalled that the report proposed measures to combat the problem under the headings of “reducing supply, demand, and harm.”

Tarhan, noting that the police have been carrying out significant efforts to reduce supply, pointed out that efforts to reduce demand have always taken the form of treatment programs and that this process is costly. Explaining that developed countries have rehabilitation centers—such as health villages—where people stay for extended periods, Tarhan said, “Without rehabilitation centers, we cannot treat addicted patients or reintegrate them into society. “Addicts who have undergone treatment often relapse and are readmitted after a certain period of time on the streets. For this reason, a structured rehabilitation program is necessary,” he said.

Tarhan, emphasizing that everyone must contribute to reducing substance abuse, noted that they had listed numerous recommendations on this issue in their presentation to the committee.

Tarhan listed the recommendations included in the report as follows:

“The probation system should be made fully operational, and validation laboratories should be established for the tests used to detect substance abuse and expanded in accordance with the principle of efficiency.”

The number of rehabilitation centers should be increased, and a structured rehabilitation system should be established.

Schools should offer courses in positive psychology, communication skills, and media literacy, starting at the elementary and middle school levels.

In the context of pleasure management as a countermeasure to consumerism, children should be taught psychological resource management as early as elementary school, because consumption addiction precedes substance addiction.

Resource management training is character development training. Self-management skills should be aimed not only at academic success but also at success in life—that is, the goal of becoming a good person.

In addition to strategies to combat illicit drugs, preventive strategies should be developed.

Targeted programs addressing drug use among specific age groups should be established. While there are policies in Europe aimed at older adults, policies in Turkey have primarily been developed for young people. Policies targeting older adults should also be developed.

Research on substance abuse should be expanded.

NGOs should be encouraged to contribute to awareness-raising efforts.

In addition to Yeşilay, there should be other organizations addressing the drug problem in Turkey. An institution similar to the U.S.-based NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse)—which can coordinate a unified approach to addiction policies—or organizations like Turkey’s EPDK and TMSF needs to be established.

We should ensure that the term “substance” is used instead of “drug,” because the term “drug” can be risky and enticing for young people.

Family relationships should be strengthened; the risk of substance use also increases in families with poor communication.

“Policies on substance use, particularly regarding cannabis and its synthetic derivatives, should be implemented. Treatment programs for cannabis users, similar to those in Europe, should be developed.”

https://aa.com.tr/tr/politika/-madde-bagimliligiyla-mucadelede-yeni-kurum-onerisi/1054137