The UAE is establishing a pioneering model in confronting the challenges arising globally from the drug scourge

Abu Dhabi, 15 July / WAM / Today, the world is witnessing increasing and accelerating challenges in confronting the spread of the scourge of drugs, the most prominent of which are the challenges arising from exploiting the digital space to promote these substances, and their spread through new means such as electronic cigarettes and vaping, which makes the control of parents and competent authorities more difficult.

In the face of this complex scene, and the rapid increase in the rates of drug abusers according to global statistics, the confrontation has become a requirement of different coping, new methods, and reliance on full community partnership, which is what the UAE realized early, as it adopted an integrated and decisive system represented by the launch of the National Strategy to Combat Drugs 2024-2031, which is based on scientific, digital, and societal axes that confront crime with the same modern tools.

The National Anti-Drug Campaign, organized by the National Anti-Narcotics Agency in cooperation with the UAE Government Media Office, came under the slogan “Uniting ranks to eradicate the scourge,” to lead a comprehensive and sustainable movement that strengthens the successful foundations for confronting the scourge, and translates into a community partnership in confronting it.

Reports of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reveal the monitoring of more than 1,200 new synthetic substances. These laboratory poisons now control the largest proportion of the market for modern narcotic substances due to their ease of production and low cost. These substances have become the first and main cause of death among young people and middle-age groups in many Western societies, outperforming many organic diseases and traffic accidents.

Regarding digital promotion, UN reports have observed a significant jump in the use of encrypted digital platforms and the dark web to promote toxins, making them directly target young people in their rooms.

Recent statistical studies have proven that the use of electronic cigarettes (vapes) increases the possibility of using other substances, especially with the difficulty of detecting the oils and psychoactive substances embedded in them by families and educational institutions.

Together, these challenges have led to an increase in the number of people who use drugs globally to reach 316 million people (in the age group between 15 and 64 years), and this number represents 6% of the world’s population in this age group. This increase recorded a jump of 28% during the last decade, which is a significant growth rate and far exceeds the global population growth rate during the same period, which means that the area of ​​abuse is expanding and attracting new groups constantly.

In the face of these global challenges, the UAE did not stand in a position of traditional defense, but rather presented an exceptional model in protecting its people and fortifying its society, and took the initiative to build an integrated proactive system with modern tools based on deterrence and technological preemption, building community immunity, and treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration.

The UAE’s system is represented in deterrence and technological proactiveness, by employing data and artificial intelligence in confrontation, as the security services in the country rely on the latest technologies to monitor and analyze smuggling patterns through the digital space, and to pursue accounts promoted through networks and dismantle them proactively in coordination with its international partners. The country has also intensified strict control over ports by tightening customs and security oversight by using smart inspection systems capable of detecting hidden shipments and complex chemicals before they enter the country.

In its strategy, the UAE focuses on building community immunity in the face of the scourge of drugs by establishing a complete partnership between all societal institutions, starting with the family and school, and the cooperation of all concerned parties to work on building self-immunity among young people, through specialized awareness programs that give them cognitive awareness and the courage to reject any misinformation, and training families on early detection and containment skills.

The UAE has worked to develop a national platform for controlled medicines to ensure the responsible and safe use of medical drugs whose unplanned use can cause addiction and to close the gaps to any illegal medical exploitation.

Treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration stand out as the most important pillars of the UAE’s strategy by providing advanced and confidential therapeutic and rehabilitative environments that guarantee recovering people to return as fit and productive individuals, in addition to job and community integration, by activating mechanisms to support recovering people and integrate them into the labor market and reduce relapse rates, while continuing to work to reduce the social stigma associated with previous cases of drug abuse.

Through these pillars, the Emirati model succeeded in transforming the procedure from criminalization to empowerment and care, and not dealing with the issue as a purely security issue, but rather addressing the humanitarian and social roots of the problem, to reach a society free of toxins through innovative national programs based on developing community immunity.

The Emirati Humanitarian Law is the most important basis for the success of the national model in confronting the scourge of drugs, as it provided those seeking therapeutic and rehabilitative support through the Hisn service on the number (80044) launched by the National Anti-Narcotics Agency with a way out of safety and hope through the pillars it guarantees to them, which are: absolute confidentiality, complete privacy, treatment and care with the highest medical and rehabilitative standards, and complete exemption from criminal responsibility.

• For more: Follow Khaleejion 24 Arabic, Khaleejion 24 English, Khaleejion 24 Live, and for social media follow us on Facebook and Twitter