KOTA BHARU, March 22 — A total of 21,794 clients who underwent community-based treatment and rehabilitation programmes, nationwide, achieved permanent recovery status last year.
National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said that the recovery rate reached 81 per cent, out of the total 26,852 clients evaluated.
“This achievement proves that AADK’s treatment modules are on the right track, and have exceeded the recovery rate reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is between 40 and 60 per cent,” he said, when contacted by Bernama recently.
Elaborating further, Ruslin said that last year, a total of 1,500 drug addicts voluntarily reported to the Narcotics Addiction Rehabilitation Centres (Puspen) to undergo treatment and rehabilitation programmes.
“This voluntary admission shows an increasing level of awareness among addicts to seek treatment without coercion.
“It can also be seen following the amendment to the Drug Addicts (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983, whereby those who come forward voluntarily are not recorded as offenders, but are instead regarded as patients who require treatment,” he said.
He added that, in Kelantan, a total of 147 clients are currently undergoing voluntary treatment and rehabilitation at Puspen Kota Bharu and Bachok. — Bernama
