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ational Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar said that the country lacked drug rehabilitation centers and that the government needed to do more to handle the drug problem, especially now that the number of drug users is an estimated 4 million people.

'€œEach year, the BNN rehabilitates 2,000 drug users, while others [relevant ministries, institutions and non-governmental organizations] can rehabilitate 16,000. This means that only 18,000 drug users receive treatment each year,'€ Anang said in a discussion on Thursday.

'€œI predict we can handle 500,000 drug users annually, so there will be no more drug users in the country after eight years,'€ he said.

Under the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint, Indonesia, along with nine member states, has pledged to free themselves from the threat of illicit drug abuse, use and trafficking by 2015.

The country currently has seven governmental institutions dealing with the problems of drug abuse, including the BNN, the Health Ministry and the Social Affairs Ministry.

The Social Affairs Ministry'€™s drug rehabilitation director Waskito Budi Kusumo said that, so far, the ministry had only been able to reach out to drug users in 15 of the country'€™s 34 provinces.

'€œWe manage 40 drug rehabilitation institutions in 15 provinces that have treated a total of 1,028 drug users. Battling drug abuse is not an easy job. We can'€™t do it alone. All of the country'€™s elements have the responsibility [to help drug users],'€ he said.

Other than the BNN and the Social Affairs Ministry, the Law and Human Rights Ministry also has a key role in giving treatment for around 27,000 drug users behind bars.

The lack of facilities and oversight have prevented the delivery of effective drug rehabilitation programs inside prisons. Instead, the drug users are easily falling back into the bad habit or develop an ability to make drugs.

On Aug. 6, Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin and National Police officials conducted an impromptu check at Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta and discovered dozens of powdered substances and several containers of liquid believed to be raw materials to make shabu-shabu (methamphetamine).

The police have named 10 suspects in the case, consisting of nine inmates and a prison guard.

He said that the BNN focused on providing additional help for prisoners with drug addiction.

'€œTo the central government, we have submitted a proposal to start rehabilitation programs for drug users in prisons. We need Rp 400 billion [US$36.4 million] to do that. We need around Rp 2.1 million to provide food and health treatment for one drug user per month,'€ he said.

So far, the rehabilitation program had done little to curb drug addiction problems in the country.

Data from the BNN shows that 80 percent of drugs users who attended rehab returned to using drugs after their program was completed.

'€œResponding to this, we just set up a post-rehabilitation directorate, which we task to help former drug users get back into the community. We teach them skills so that they can work,'€ BNN rehabilitation deputy Kusman Suriakusumah said.