On Friday 1 December 2023, the specialized workshop on “Strategic Directions to Strengthen the Combat of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances” was held by the Justice Center for Legal Aid in partnership with the Directorate of Military Justice, the National Committee for Combating Narcotics, and the Public Security Directorate, represented by the Dead Sea Narcotics Control Department.
The aim of the workshop was to formulate activities, programs and measurement tools to achieve the objectives of the National Strategy to Combat Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Further, the workshop determined the entities responsible for implementation, as well as the top-priorities at the national level.
The Director of Military Justice, Colonel Judge Abdullah Al-Fawaz, Chairman of the National Narcotics Control Committee, said: “All efforts made must be directed towards the ultimate goal that we all seek, which is an effective fight with tangible results against the scourge of drugs and psychotropic substances. We must reduce the supply through strengthening active border control, while pursuing distribution and promotion channels, to limit the possibility of the spread. Further, it is necessary to identify the social and economic causes of the spread of drugs, in order to strengthen awareness campaigns for its prevention. We must emphasize drugs prevention in all its forms, also when it comes to the rehabilitation of addicts, especially juveniles”.
Judge Al-Fawaz highlighted the importance of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Fund, whose support of the efforts to combat drugs and contribution to the treatment and rehabilitation of addicts is paramount.
Director of the Narcotics Control Department, Colonel Hassan Al-Qudah, said: “Following the directives of His Majesty the King, effective measures have been built to deal with this dangerous scourge that is troubling people, of which the creation of the National Strategy is the most prominent. The Strategy aims to spread awareness, enhance societal culture of the danger of drugs and confront it. It stresses the importance of continuing to cooperate in combating drugs to reach safe and drug-free communities, while seeking to communicate with all partners to maintain cooperation in the field of awareness of their harms”.
In turn, Director of the Justice Center for Legal Aid, Hadeel Abdel Aziz, said that this workshop set the framework to support the National Strategy to combat drugs through a holistic set of interventions. These aim to enhance integration and participation of different sectors, as the outcomes of the workshop will lay the ground for partner agencies to work on legal aspects, social, psychological, therapeutic and preventive measures in a sustainable, monitorable and measurable manner, leading to a society protected from the scourge of drugs.
The workshop included discussion sessions on strengthening the efforts to combat drugs and psychotropic substances and building solid foundations for coordination and partnership between official bodies and civil society organizations interested in combating drugs and psychotropic substances.
Representatives of the military judiciary, the Anti-Narcotics Administration, and a number of representatives of ministries, government institutions, and civil society organizations participated in the workshop.