Expert warns against treatment at private rehabilitation clinics

The General Directorate for Narcotics Control has warned families of drug addicts that they should not seek treatment at private clinics because these facilities lack psychological, social and religious rehabilitation, which accounts for 70 percent of the treatment process.
Abdullah bin Mohammad Al-Sharif, assistant director general for preventive affairs, an international expert at the United Nations and president of the Committee on Addiction Cases, issued the warning.
“The number of young people using drugs is increasing, and I take this opportunity to warn Saudi families about treating their children for addiction at private medical centers that drain the finances of the patient and lack the necessary social, psychological and religious guidance,” he said.
He stressed that Al-Amal hospitals — government hospitals that treat addicts through medical and mental programs — have specialized clinics and qualified doctors to treat addicts.
Al-Amal hospitals receive an average of 250 to 300 patients every day, 60 percent of them seeking addiction treatment.
The Ministry of Health plans to open 18 centers for treating addicts and patients with mental illnesses during the next three years.
Al-Sharif said Saudi Arabia participated in the recent International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking where it gave a brief account of the activities and programs that focus on the dangers of the abuse of medical drugs, especially those related to morphine such as Tramadol and Xanax. In its 2012 report, the International Narcotics Control Board warned against the abuse of these medications.
He said Saudi Arabia is committed to combating drug abuse in terms of security, prevention and treatment.
He said that a study showed 70 percent of all addicts are between 12 and 20 years of age, and called on families “to take care of their children and educate them about the dangers of drugs.”
Al-Sharif said that according to the World Health Organization, alcohol kills about 2.5 million people every year around the world, of which 320,000 are between the ages of 15 and 29.