Drug Users Should Go to Rehab, Not Jail: BNN

Jakarta Globe, Bayu Marhaenjati, June 13, 2013

Indonesian officials with the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) test
 methamphetamine during a press conference in Jakarta on Feb. 7, 2013.
(AFP Photo/ Adek Berry).

In a stark contrast to current judicial trends in Indonesia, the chief of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has advocated for rehabilitation-based treatment for drug users rather than incarceration.

“Abusing drugs is illegal and clearly prohibited, but the proper punishment a judge should hand down [to drug abusers] is not prison, but rehabilitation,” Anang Iskandar, the head of the agency, said on Thursday.

Anang said there were still judges who preferred to punish drug abusers by ordering them to undergo jail time, even though the Supreme Court issued a regulation stipulating that a drug abuser should be rehabilitated.

“A judge may order a drug abuser to check into a rehab as long as they are not a trafficker, but unfortunately, there are still some judges who do not want to do that. It’s a shame, because it could help reduce the number of drug abusers,” he said.

Anang said that the BNN has been trying improve the competence of its staff in order to help more drug users.

“We want our staff to understand that their job is to bring the drug addicts in voluntarily and not by force,” he said.

According to a 2011 survey by the BNN, there are between 3.8 and 4.2 million illicit drug users in Indonesia.

Deputy Justice Minister Denny Indrayana previously said that sending drug addicts to prison hinders their chance of recovering and also crowds prisons and detention centers.

According to the deputy minister, drug offenders make up more than 40 percent of the 150,000 people detained in Indonesian jails.