Three Turkish ministries unite forces to fight against drugs

Nuray BABACAN ANKARA

Police display bonzai captured in packages of instant coffee in this file photo. Three Turkish ministries have paced efforts to tackle the drug. AA Photo

Officials from the Family and Social Policies Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Interior Ministry have held a meeting in an effort to unite their forces to combat drugs, including a cheap synthetic drug called ”Bonzai,” the use of which has been rapidly spreading in recent years.

Family Minister Ayşenur İslam said the three ministries had been coordinating to find a solution to the drug problem and to prevent easy access to drugs, especially Bonzai, on the streets.

İslam said there were new plans to allow drug addicts to receive rehabilitation treatment at private centers after receiving six months of treatment at Alcohol and Drug Addiction Treatment Centers (AMATEM).

“The rate of those who start using drugs again after leaving AMATEM is too high. We should not stop helping these people. They need to receive a special rehabilitation period [following their initial treatment]. New centers will opened for this,” she said, adding that the first target was to protect homeless children living on the streets who are addicts.

Seventeen of Turkey’s 30 protection, caring and rehabilitation centers, which work under the ministry, will be assigned to this project, İslam said, adding that drug enforcement experts would also work at these centers.

The ministries will also seek to facilitate employment opportunities for those who sell and distribute drugs in order to remove them from drugs circles, İslam added.