The Jakarta Post | Fri, 03/20/2009 7:36 PM
The Supreme Court has distributed notification letters to all provincial court judges to no longer sentence drug users with imprisonment, but instead to issue court orders for medical treatments and rehabilitation.
The letters were signed by Supreme Justice Bagir Manan on Tuesday and later distributed to all heads of provincial courts in the country, Supreme Court spokesperson Djoko Sarwoko said on Friday.
Djoko said imprisoning drug users could no longer be considered an appropriate approach to tackle the problem of drug abuse.
“They are victims. They are ill, and therefore need treatment,” Djoko said at his office as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
The Court, he added, had deemed that imprisonment would have a negative impact on drug users and worsen their psychological condition.
“For first-timers and those who are underage, if they are jailed and placed with other convicts, it would be bad for them,” Djoko said.
The Court’s decision is in line with an article in the law on psychotropic substances which states that drug addicts can be sentenced with a court order for medical treatment and rehabilitation. (and)
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