(AFP File Photo)
By Nourhan Dakroury
The cabinet announced the progress of a national plan to fight drug abuse and addiction, which has been in the works since February under the patronage of Prime Minister Hesham Qandil.
Between January and April, a committee was formed to oversee and monitor its programme to fight drug abuse, in addition to the formation of a committee in every governorate to oversee the execution of local programmes, according to a statement released by the cabinet on Sunday.
The statement said the cabinet, in collaboration with the Italian government, is working on establishing a court solely dedicated to cases of drug abuse and trade, in addition to assisting Libya in starting their own national plan fighting drug abuse and addiction.
According to lawyer Amr Imam, the cabinet is working on a draft law to modify Law 182, which is concerned with fighting drug trade.
“There is no problem with the law, as much as there is a problem with the execution of the law,” Imam said, adding that a lot of officers who respond to reports of illegal drug trades do not know how to conduct proper investigations about the matter.
The statement also said that the first anti-drug abuse directory was launched under the national plan, mainly focused on assisting youth.
The plan has already launched preventative programmes for youth and school children, which has been incorporated in 311 schools around the country, according to the statement.
The government also launched programmes to train doctors, psychiatrists and social workers to deal with issues of drug abuse and addiction as well as other programmes in collaboration with civil society organisations.
The national plan is also keeping up with the hotline (16203) for drug addiction and treatment, which aims at consulting with and assisting patients in emergencies.
