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SINGAPORE: The Drug Abuse Law will be amended this year to regulate new psychoactive substances (NPS) based on their potential to produce a psychoactive effect, Minister of State for Internal Affairs Muhammad said on Monday (March 1). Faishal Ibrahim.
Such substances are intended to mimic the effects of controlled drugs, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said on its website, adding that they have unknown toxicological effects and are just as addictive and harmful as controlled drugs.
Currently, these substances are listed individually or by their core molecular structure and substitution patterns in the Drug Abuse Act.
“Currently, due to how NPS are listed in the Drug Abuse Act, there may be a time lag from detection to inclusion of a new NPS,” said Associate Professor Faishal.
Amending the law to regulate such substances based on their potential to produce a psychoactive effect will allow the CNB to take faster enforcement action, he said.
The Deputy Professor of the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, speaking in Parliament on March 1, 2021.
The CNB identified new psychoactive substances as one of the three most common drugs of abuse in Singapore last year, along with methamphetamine and heroin.
READ: As rogue chemists play cat and mouse, MHA revises laws to better address new psychoactive substances
REHABILITATION AND REINTEGRATION
Speaking on the issue of strengthening efforts to rehabilitate and reintegrate drug offenders, Associate Professor Faishal noted that the Enhanced Drug Rehabilitation Regimen (EDRR) was introduced in 2014 for first and second time drug users.
This aligned rehabilitation interventions with the abusers’ risk of recidivism and the level of drug dependence.
“In 2019, the drug rehab regime was further enhanced to commit drug addicts for the third and subsequent times who are not charged with any other crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Drug Rehabilitation Center), rather than being accused in court and long-term liable. imprisonment, ”said adjunct professor Faishal.
“A recent Prisons study revealed that the two-year recidivism rate for drug abusers who went through EDRR was 8 percentage points lower than those who did not,” he said, adding that the effectiveness of the 2019 improvements was I’d evaluate once that’s enough. the data is available.
Speaking in Malay, Assistant Professor Faishal said that the Malay-Muslim community has made “significant progress” in the fight against drugs.
He noted a decline in the two-year relapse rate for Malaysian drug abusers, from 42 percent for those released in 2011 to about 30 percent for the 2018 release cohort.
He noted efforts to provide support to inmates and their families, such as the Office of the Family and Prisoner Care Assistance Shelter (FITRAH), run by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS).
In addition to this, there are also groups of ex-offenders who have come together to support each other, he said.
“This year, the CARE Network (Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-offenders) will establish a framework to support these groups, which can serve as prosocial networks for ex-offenders,” he said.
The network works to coordinate post-treatment rehabilitation and reintegration services.
“We will continue to work together with the various community groups to strengthen our outreach and reintegration efforts,” he said.
READ: IN FOCUS: Breaking the cycle of drug addiction passed from parent to child
IMPROVING EMPLOYABILITY
Adjunct Professor Faishal also noted efforts to improve the employability of ex-offenders, such as through the Yellow Ribbon Singapore (YRSG) initiative TAP (Train, Attach and Place) and Grow.
Under the initiative, partner industries and training providers offer continuous employment and upgrade through a work-study agreement after inmates are released.
Last year, YRSG partnered with organizations to offer precision and media engineering training, he said.
“This year, TAP and Grow will expand into the Logistics and Infocomm sectors. This year training facilities for these sectors will be installed in prisons, ”he said.
Under the Job Growth Incentive launched in September 2020, ex-offenders are eligible for the highest level of salary support. This has expanded the job opportunities available to ex-offenders, Adjunct Professor Faishal said.
“Inmates and ex-offenders with strong family support are more likely to be successfully reintegrated. Family members may also need support during their loved one’s incarceration, ”she added.
He said the Singapore Prison Service and the Ministry of Social and Family Development will implement a “revised workflow to strengthen coordination and information sharing” with Family Service Centers (FSCs) on inmates who have family members who need support. .
“This will ensure timely access to FSC resources,” he said.
“In addition to training volunteers who work with inmates, prisons will expand training opportunities to those who assist inmates’ families,” he added.
“Together, our efforts to better support families will also help reduce intergenerational crime.”
