Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign

These measures will all work to reduce the demand for illegal drugs and curb drug supply. II. A new-generation strategy to combat drug abuse. In contrast to ... |Chinese| About About Structure&Organization Anti-DrugReport Campaign E-Newsletter Taiwan’snew-generationstrategytocombatdrugabuse I.Background Althoughthegovernmenthassparednoefforttocombatdrugabuseovertheyears,problemsstillpersist,soonMay11theExecutiveYuanproposedanew-generationdrugstrategytoaddresscontemporarydrugissues.WithaprojectedbudgetofNT$10billion(US$331.56million)overfouryears(2017-2020),thestrategywillseektopreventtherawmaterialsandprecursorsforillegaldrugsfromenteringTaiwan,reducedrug-relatedhealthproblemsforaddictsandmakethemlesslikelytocommitothertypesofcrime,andstrengtheninvestigationandseizuremeasuresagainstthemanufacture,saleandtransportofdrugs.Thesemeasureswillallworktoreducethedemandforillegaldrugsandcurbdrugsupply. II.Anew-generationstrategytocombatdrugabuse Incontrasttopasteffortsthatfocusedonlyonthequantityofdrugsseized,thecurrentgovernment’snew-generationstrategycentersonpeople—apprehendingthesourceofdrugs—aswellasquantitativetargetstoeliminatedrugsfromTaiwansociety.Fivemajorstrategicmeasuresinclude: A.Drugmonitoring:Denyentryandstrengtheninspections 1.Procureadditionalhigh-speeddetectioninstruments;increaseimportspotchecksandfollow-upinspectionsforhigh-riskactivepharmaceuticalingredients;upgradebordercontrolmeasurestopreventdrugsfromenteringTaiwan. 2.Expandinspectioncapabilitiestodetectemergingdrugsbyestablishingstandardanalyticalprofilesforthem,andupgradinginspectioncapabilitiesatpublicandprivatetestlaboratories. B.Drugprevention:Zerotolerancefordrugsinschools 1.Haveschoolsanddistrictpoliceprecinctssetupcooperativepatrolnetworkscoveringdrug“hotspots”;strengthenreportingrequirementsforeducationalunits. 2.Makeprincipalsandschoolstakeonmoreresponsibilityfordrugpreventionbyincorporatingsucheffortsintotheirperformanceevaluations. 3.Provideguidance,referralsandfollow-upservicesforstudentdrugusersonanindividual,case-by-casebasis. C.Drugsweeps:Noplacefordrugdealerstohide 1.Employatech-orientedanti-drugstrategy,integratingcross-ministerialresourcestoestablishanationaldrugdatabaseandcreatedrugnetworkgraphicsforeachlocaletohelptrackdrugsourcesandcutoffsupply. 2.Mountoffensivesagainstcommunity-basedmiddlemenandretaildrugdealersthroughscheduledaswellasunscheduledsweeps,andestablishcomprehensivereportingnetworks. 3.Establishregionaljointpreventionplanningandsupervisionmechanisms. 4.Setupreportingnetworksfordrugissuesinremoteareasandstepupinvestigationandseizureactionstargetingdrugsmugglers. 5.Establishareporting,investigationandseizuremechanismwithinthemilitary. D.Drugrehabilitationtreatment:Providecomprehensive,empiricalandcontinuoustreatmentservices 1.Increasecoverageformedicaltreatmentofdrugandnarcoticaddictions. 2.Buildfourintegratedmedicaltreatmentdemocentersfordrugandnarcoticaddicts,oneeachinthenorth,central,southandeasternregions. 3.Buildadditionaltherapeuticcommunitiesandhalfwayhouses. 4.Promoteregionalservicesformethadonereplacementtherapyandimprovetheaccessibilityofreplacementtherapyinremoteareas. 5.Setupfamily-centeredsupportservicestoencouragedrugaddictstoreturntotheirfamilies. 6.Provideone-stopemploymentservicesthatlinknetworkresourcestohelppatientspreparetofindemployment. 7.TransferadministrativeoversightoflocaldrugabusepreventioncentersfromtheMinistryofJusticetotheMinistryofHealthandWelfaretoenhancethemedicalrehabilitationandcounselingservicesofthosecenters. 8.EvaluatemethodstotransformdrugrehabilitationcentersundertheMinistryofJustice’sAgencyofCorrections,introducinganewrehabilitationmodelfocusedonservicesthatprovidemedicaltreatmentandhelpaddictsreturntosociety,withaddictsupervisionasasecondaryconsideration. E.Strategiesforamendinglawsandregulations 1.Increasecriminalsentencesandfinesformanufacturing,transportingandtraffickinginillegaldrugs. 2.Increasepunishmentsbyhalfforthesaleofillegaldrugstominorsorpregnantwomen,andforthemanufacture,transportorsaleofhybriddrugs. 3.AmendcriteriaforpossessionofCategory1andCategory2drugs,replacingtheterm“purenarcotics”with“narcotics”toreducetestingcostsandharmonizedomesticlawwithregulationsinothercountries.LowerthesentencingthresholdforpossessionofCategory3andCategory4drugsfrom20grams(purenarcotics)to5grams(narcotics),therebymakingdistributionmorerisky. 4.Employthe“administrativeinterventionsfirst,withjudicialsanctionsthereafter”modeltoachieveeffectivepreventionanddeterrence.UsersofCategory3orCategory4drugswithmultipleoffenseswillbefinedandcompleteworkshopsandcounselingfirst.Thosewhofailtocompleteprescribecounseling,orareconvictedofdrugoffensesfourtimesormorewithinathreeyearperiod,willthenbesubjecttocriminalsanctions 5.Introduceanexpandedconfiscationsystemtocutoffmoneyflowsgeneratedbydrugtrafficking. 6.Deviseamendmentstobringemergingillegaldrugsandsimilarsubstancesandprecursorsunderlegalsupervisionallatonce,closinganyloopholeswherethesesubstancesthatarenotyetunderlegalsupervisioncanbecirculated. 7.Amendregulationsregardingrewardsandpunishmentsinanti-drugefforts,givingequalweighttothenumberofsuspectsinvestigatedandtheamountofdrugsconfiscatedtoincentivizedrugenforcementeffortsandtraceupstreamdrugsources. 8.Establishareportingandtracingmechanismformilitarycasesinvolvingdrugs. 9.Continuetopromotelegislationthatholdsvenuesofspecialbusinessesresponsiblefordrugcontroltofosterasafeandcleanentertainmentenvironmentfreeofdrugpartiesandgatherings. III.Conclusion Becausedrugabusepreventionandcontroleffortshaveamajorimpactonpublicsafetyandnationaldevelopment,thegovernment’snew-generationanti-drugpolicytakesamorecomprehensiveapproachtocombatingdrugcrimesandpreventingthedangersinherentindrugabuse.AsPremierLinChuansaidattheCabinetmeetingonMay11,2017,“Drug-abusepreventionandcontrolisamajorbattlethatrequirestheconcertedeffortsofthecentralandlocalgovernments,andthepublicandprivatesectors.Thisisanappealtogovernmentatalllevelsandcitizensfromallwalksoflifetojoinforces,anddeclarewarondrugabusesothatdrugswillnotendangerfuturegenerations.”