Sharjah to set up drug rehab centre

EMIRATE SAW 7% INCREASE IN DRUG CASES IN 2017 WITH POLICE RECORDING 767 INCIDENTS

Anew drug treatment and rehabilitation centre is being established in Sharjah following the directives of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

Dr Shaikh Sultan had directed Major General Saif Ziri Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, to establish a specialised centre to rehabilitate drug addicts.

The centre will also raise awareness about drug abuse.

Major General Al Shamsi said the centre will offer treatment and rehab programmes in line with the highest international standards and will offer treatment to reintegrate drug addicts into mainstream society after they recover.

Sharjah saw a 7 per cent increase in drug-related cases in 2017 with police recording 767 cases compared to 712 in 2016.

In 2017, Sharjah Police referred 97 drug addicts to rehabilitation centres. In Sharjah jails, a programme titled ‘to recover’ has been started to target drug addiction. The programme won an award from the Ministry of Interior this year. A total of 253 inmates benefited from this programme that began in December 2015. Only 11 inmates returned to jail — four in Sharjah and seven in other parts of the UAE.

“The department spares no effort in raising awareness about the dangers of narcotics, especially among youth,” said Brigadier Mohammad Rashid Bayat, director of operations.

In 2017, Sharjah police seized 9.5 million narcotic tablets and 400kg of narcotic substances with a street value of more than Dh515 million.

In January 2017, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued a law establishing a drug treatment and rehabilitation centre in Dubai called ‘Irada’, meaning ‘will’.

The National Rehabilitation Center (NRC) in Abu Dhabi was established in May 2002.