(Part 2)
“Rehabilitation is imperative and essential in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, in the long run (but) the success of the campaign ultimately lies with the government”
AS A follow-through of this column on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s recalibrated campaign on illegal drugs aimed at targeting the sources of illegal drugs, particularly shabu, which is the poor man’s narcotic, I have made rehabilitation a separate piece and second part of my column on rehabilitation.
I consider rehabilitation the most important part of any campaign against illegal drugs because demand depends on supply.
A study had pointed out the problem of illegal drugs anywhere in the world is rooted on demand.
Considering that narcotics have become a multi-billion dollar phenomenon, there are always syndicates and cartels ready to supply the demand.
And, Santa Banana, no matter how effective law enforcement has become in the United States, while the demand continues, the problem persists.
In the Philippines, a study has found that in almost all barangays, there are drug users or addicts.
The same study also found drug addicts and users are, more often than not, the victims.
This is why the Duterte war on illegal drugs was a dismal failure because it targeted drug users and addicts as enemies of the state and had to be terminated.
Santa Banana, the result has been the numerous extrajudicial killings in what became Duterte’s “war” on illegal drugs concentrated on eliminating drug users and addicts and most of them have only become victims to support their habits.
This is where I consider rehabilitation the most important part of any campaign against illegal drugs. While the campaign of BBM targets the source of where illegal drugs are coming from, BBM’s campaign is still shortsighted
There will always be the law of supply and demand.
The administration must realize that the illegal drug problem had made the country a transhipment point of the world
Rehabilitation does not consist of merely isolating drug users and addicts from the use of drugs.
First of all, rehabilitation must be community-based because the support of families for the drug user or addict is imperative since from the start, the problem of a drug user or addict often begins with the family.
This is where I will discuss the need for rehabilitation since the problem of any addict or user is psychological and physiological, which demands a psychologist and which demands treatment in a center, like in a hospital..
The rehab center must be staffed with qualified nurses and doctors.
There had been some rehab centers built before during the height of illegal drug use in the 70s, 80s 90s where the government gave emphasis on merely isolating them from drugs, but they were dismal failures.
Since the construction of rehab centers is very costly, I believe this is where our conglomerates and business organizations must come in to support the government.
Having been a vice president of the late Father Bob Garon’s DARE Foundation, I know it is expensive to put up a rehab center that will help in the campaign against illegal drugs.
In DARE Foundation, we used to get support from the private sector, and even government.
But, support from the private sector and government could only be ad hoc or temporary. Soon enough the donations dry up.
Our success rate in rehabilitating drug users and addicts was at almost 75 to 80 percent and the so-called graduates went back to drugs and many died from overdose.
What I am saying is while I believe rehabilitation is imperative and essential in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, in the long run, the success of the campaign ultimately lies with the government.
Speaking on BBM’s recalibrated campaign against illegal drugsiit is at least less brutal and bloody than the Duterte war and, definitely, without resulting in extrajudicial killings.
But, the fight must continue.
