Afghan Ministry Of Interior Drug Testing Police, Offering Rehab

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

07.13.2010

Story by Tech. Sgt. Markus Maier 

NATO Training Mission Afghanistan

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KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan, the world's leading producer of opium and hashish, has increasing numbers of citizens taking drugs, according to the recently released United Nations’ World Drug Report 2010.

Around one million Afghans suffer from addiction. This is a rise from five years ago when a similar survey was conducted. The number of regular opium users rose 53 percent, from 150,000 to 230,000. The number of heroin users rose from 50,000 to 120,000, an increase of 140 percent, during the same period.

This means that almost eight percent of Afghans between the ages of 15-64 are regular drug users who are addicted to opiates, as well as cannabis and tranquilizers, according to the U.N. report, based on surveys of about 2,500 drug users, community leaders, teachers and doctors.

By comparison, only point-seven-percent of neighbouring Pakistan and point-58 percent of Americans 5-64 are regular opiate users, according to the U.N. report. This is a challenge Afghan government officials must deal with while trying to rebuild.

“Drug use is one of the factors,” said U.S. Army Col. Louis H. Jordan Jr., senior advisor for the Afghan deputy minister of counter narcotics. “This country, after 30 years of conflict, has an illiteracy problem, a corruption problem, a drug problem, a terrorist problem, a bribery problem, a trafficking problem -- it has a lot of problems. Someone took this country and put it on pause in 1973. Our job is to press the play button again and help Afghanistan get back on track.”

Over the past year, personnel from the ministry of interior and Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan have drug-tested members of the Afghan National Police to understand how much the rise in Afghan drug use affects its police force.

“Between Jan. 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010, 136,000 police personnel have been tested for drug use,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Tim Weber, Medical Transition Assistance Group Police medical team chief. “Eight percent tested positive for some illicit drug, with the majority being Tetrahydrocannabinol.”

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the active chemical in hashish and marijuana. Opiates refer to harder drugs such as opium, heroin and morphine. Out of the officers testing positive, 81 percent tested for THC, while only 17 percent tested for opiates. While these numbers are lower Afghanistan as a whole, the Afghan Ministry of Interior works on the problem before it gets worse.

“The MOI staff has drafted a new drug and alcohol policy which is being reviewed within the MOI legal department,” Weber said. “This policy, if signed, lays out annual drug testing requirements for all police forces. Once this policy is approved and implemented, this will provide more structure to the process.”

The MOI also deals with police officers found to use drugs and instead of firing the officer after a first offence he/she is offered help. In December 2009 MOI leased a multi-building compound in West Kabul and turned it into a drug rehabilitation center capable of handling 126 inpatients.

“I live here because I’m a drug addict,” said an Afghan police officer from the Herat province, currently in treatment at the center. “The doctors work very hard here to help us. I am much better now. I will leave this place soon and go back to being a police officer in Herat.”

He added that he has no intention of doing drugs again and wants to be a good police officer for his country and family.

“The facility is run by the Afghan National Police surgeon general and, along with MOI, has rectified any original facility shortfalls,” Weber said. “They’ve even received a commitment from the Government of Japan to donate nearly $700,000 in equipment, supplies, pharmaceuticals and funding for the annual lease.”

Weber added that drug rehabilitation is a very complicated issue even in the western world. In Afghanistan there are only a handful of Afghan drug addiction specialists and yet the treatment center is making a positive impact.

Another angle MOI is looking at is how to educate police officers on the danger of drug use.

Combined Training Advisory Group - Police coordinated the reformatted anti-drug training and is implemented the training program in the new basic training. This program is approved as the new national program.

“A pilot of the new program is being overseen by members of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan and eventually will be delivered throughout all training centers in Afghanistan,” Weber said. “You want to make sure that the new trainees get the ‘just say no’ speech and you want to make sure they understand that doing drugs is a bad thing.”

"While it may take time, Afghan officials hope to minimize drug use in the police force through testing, rehabilitation and education. “I think MOI is really set up for success with the entire continuum,” Weber said. “What we’ve seen over the past six to nine months is kind of the first evolution, and now we’ll see what the second evolution brings.”

“Afghanistan has made some great strides in combating drugs and combating opium,” Jordan said. “Between 2003 and 2006 Afghanistan only had three to six provinces that were considered poppy-free. In 2009 they had 20 out of 34 provinces poppy free. In 2010 they expect to go to 24 out of 34 provinces. Overall they are making some progress in their fight against drugs.”