T

he National Narcotics Agency (BNN) is setting up assessment teams to be stationed at every precinct police station across the country as part of a campaign to enlist addicts on rehabilitation programs.

BNN chief Comr. Gen. Anang Iskandar said on Wednesday that the team, which would consist of police investigators, doctors and psychiatrists, would decide if drug addicts would be brought to court or rehab centers.

'€œThe team will determine if an individual is only a drug user, or also a drug dealer,'€ he said on Wednesday.

Article 127 of the 2009 Narcotics Law orders the state to pay for rehab for drug users.

The article also stipulates that a drug user faces a maximum penalty of four years imprisonment and must undergo medical and social rehabilitation programs.

According to the law, only those who face jail time of over five years must be taken into police custody.

Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said the assessment team would play a key role in the war against drugs, as police and prosecutors often mistakenly classified drug addicts as dealers.

'€œIf prosecutors have accused them of violating Article 114 and Article 113 [on the drug trade, which carries a maximum penalty of 12 years in jail], it is impossible for the judge to charge them with Article 127 on his own initiative,'€ Amir said.

Amir added drug users could only be cured from their addiction by taking treatment in rehabilitation centers, instead of in prisons.

'€œOur prisons, due to overcrowding, will worsen the mental and physical conditions of drug users,'€ the minister said.

Amir explained that by not putting drug addicts behind bars, the country could significantly ease the problem of prison overcrowding.

'€œAbout 50 percent of prisoners in the country'€™s correctional facilities and penitentiaries are drug convicts,'€ he said.

Anang said the BNN was currently discussing the formation of assessment teams with the National Police, the Law and Human Rights Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Social Affairs Ministry.

He said the new assessment team would not cause wasteful spending.

'€œWe will not pay the team members [police investigators, doctors and psychiatrists] because they already receive salaries from their respective institutions,'€ he said.

The government is struggling to provide rehabilitation programs for drug users, which have reached an estimated 4 million people.

The BNN, relevant ministries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rehabilitate a total of 18,000 drug users each year.

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

Earlier, the Social Affairs Ministry aimed to set up more rehabilitation centers for drug addicts, due to severe overcrowding in prisons.

The ministry also provides assistance to 103 NGOs in 21 provinces to develop rehab centers for drug users, and to another 40 NGOs to record and produce reports on drug abuse in their regions.

The ministry has two central rehabilitation centers overseeing five provincial rehab centers in six provinces, including Yogyakarta, Banjarmasin, Palembang and Makassar.