Awareness course on drugs concludes

The Peninsula - The third awareness course on drug risks, which targets social specialists at schools of English speaking communities, concluded here recently.

The awareness course was organized by the Permanent Committee for Drugs and Alcohol Affairs at Ali Bin Jabr Al Thani auditorium of Qatari Red Crescent Society.

Sheikh Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani, Assistant Director of International Cooperation Department, distributed appreciation certificates to 46 participants in the course.

In a lecture, Dr Al Maamoon Muhammad Obaid, from the psychiatry unit of the medical services department at the Ministry of Interior, said, the deviation of youths into drug addiction depends on the environment in which they have grown up. The phenomenon of drug addiction influences the individual, family and society socially, psychologically, economically and environmentally and it leads children to addiction to other stimulating subjects.

Dr Obaid added that the cultivation of drugs in a big way and addiction of a high number of youths has fuelled money laundering, financing of terrorism and human trafficking as also other crimes that effect the society negatively.

Talking about the necessary of enhancing awareness of this issue, Dr Obaid said "Drugs have become an international problem and the state has been investing great efforts into countering drugs. There should be awareness programmes, starting from the family, to protect our youths and to treat and rehabilitate the addicts to bring them back to the society as normal members to join in the process of nation building.

In a presentation, Dr Thahir Shalthooth, psychiatrist consultant and head of the addiction treatment unit at Hamad Medical Corporation, on highlighted the necessary of joint efforts to tackle the drugs addiction problem.

Dr Tahir said, "Drugs are a problem that need different efforts by the government and non-government social establishments and the treatment of drug addicts needs more joint efforts from treatment establishments, efforts of the addict himself in addition to the efforts of the drug addict's family. The efforts of these three parties should be invested equally and continuously and with tolerance to reap best results."

Explaining the differences seen in the rehabilitation of different drug addicts, Dr Shaltoot said "The rehabilitation process differs from one addict to another one looking to the duration of drug consumption, its method and body power of the drug user and his personality and the duration of the treatment also will differ.

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