Addiction is not a crime. Why does Kyrgyzstan urgently need a rehabilitation system?

Batma Estebesova, the director of the public organization "Socium" and a narcologist, shared her opinion about rehabilitation centers for drug addicts on her Facebook page.

She notes that private rehabilitation institutions in Bishkek are closing due to unacceptable treatment methods, violence, and a lack of medical approach. "This cannot be ignored," she says.

Violence is not treatment! Addicts and their families remain in a difficult situation. State rehabilitation programs are absent, and available detox programs are short-term. The remaining private centers raise concerns, and after their closure, addicts return to their previous environment without support.

According to the expert, some addicts are fortunate because their parents were able to place them in the remaining centers.

"We must close institutions where rights are violated and violent methods are used. But we cannot leave a vacuum. Addiction is a disease, not a crime. Rehabilitation is a complex professional process, and if private centers are closed, alternatives must be provided," Estebesova asserts.

She poses several questions:

Where are the state rehabilitation centers?
Where are the long-term support programs?
Where are the psychiatrists and psychologists?
Where is the help for families who are currently in panic?

"Today, not only parents are in shock. Dozens and hundreds of people are in danger, who may relapse, die from an overdose, or end up in prison. This critical situation requires immediate dialogue and solutions, which must involve doctors, human rights defenders, public organizations, and families," she added.

The issue of addiction to psychoactive substances and the possibilities for treatment is indeed relevant, according to Estebesova: thousands of people in Kyrgyzstan become addicted to drugs.

The situation with new synthetic and pharmaceutical drugs raises particular concern, as the doctor noted.

"Treatment for drug addiction (detox) is carried out in state narcological institutions, but rehabilitation is not provided in them," she emphasized.

Previously, there were successful examples of the work of two rehabilitation departments; however, private centers failed to meet the rehabilitation tasks. "Where is the system that should be dealing with the treatment and rehabilitation of people with addictions?" she continued.

In Kyrgyzstan, Estebesova reiterates, there are no state rehabilitation centers that provide:

long-term treatment for addiction;
support after detoxification;
psychological and psychiatric assistance;
social reintegration.

"In practice, addiction treatment boils down to short-term detox, which is not real rehabilitation and does not prevent relapses. Therefore, it is necessary to initiate interdepartmental dialogue as soon as possible to develop a plan for creating a rehabilitation system. During the transition period, alternative assistance programs for drug addicts on the path to recovery should be provided. Addiction is a disease, not a crime. State policy should be aimed not only at control but also at saving lives," she concluded.

The photo on the main page is illustrative: culture.ru.

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