Pubdate: Mon, 26 Dec 2005
Source: Taipei Times, The (Taiwan)
Page: 2
Copyright: 2005 The Taipei Times
Contact:  http://www.taipeitimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1553
Author: Rich Chang, Staff Reporter
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment?)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

DRUG USERS FACE STIFFER PENALTIES

Crackdown: Those Caught Taking Minor Drugs Such As Ketamine And
Ecstasy Could Soon Face Detention and Forced Treatment at One Of
Several Centers Around the Nation

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is amending a  law which will enable the
agency to detain people who  use minor drugs and force them to undergo
treatment.

"The proposed amendment will help teenagers and youths give up taking
minor drugs such as ketamine, MDMA  [ecstasy] or flunitrazepam
frequently used in pubs or  KTVs, and also be a punishment to deter
people from  using these kinds of drugs," Vice Minister of Justice
Wang Tian-sheng said.

Wang said drug use by teenagers and youths is rampant.

The new law will be approved and put into practice next year, Wang
added.

According to the Violation of the Narcotics Endangerment Prevention
Act, while  selling or transporting third-class, or minor, drugs is a
criminal offense, those who caught using minor drugs do not face
criminal charges and cannot be forced to undergo treatment for drug
abuse.

"The MOJ found that minor drugs frequently taken in pubs and KTVs
have caused health and social problems among teenagers and youths, so
the [government] decided  to send them to the MOJ's drug abstention
and treatment centers, which are charged with detaining drug abusers
and giving them forced treatment," the vice minister  said.

Wang added that students would be suspended from their studies if
they receive treatment for narcotics abuse.

Wang said that to house the drug users, four drug abstention and
treatment centers in Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Taitung would be
opened on Jan.1, which  will be able to accommodate more than 4,000
people.

The new centers will be "hospitalized," meaning that medical care
will be offered to help users give up drugs, Wang added.

Under the current law, those arrested for using "first-class" drugs
such as heroin and cocaine, or "second-class" drugs such as
amphetamines and  marijuana, must undergo narcotic treatment at drug
abstention and treatment centers for a maximum of one month. Those
who are seriously addicted and fail an exam after the one-month
treatment must undergo a second treatment, lasting up to a maximum of
one year.

The vice minister said that in the proposed amendment the MOJ has
suggested extending the one-month limit on treatment to two-months,
and the one-year treatment to three-years.

He said that more than 3,600 people are currently receiving narcotic
treatment at centers at 19 detention  houses and 18 Juvenile Detention
and Classification  Houses nationwide.

The current law stipulates that those who've received narcotic
treatments one or two times and are arrested again for drug use will
be charged under criminal law. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake