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Government to follow up anti-drugs proposals
The Government released today (Thursday) a 42-point action plan to follow-up the Report of the Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN) Special Action Group.
The 42 initiatives comprise nine on law enforcement, 20 on preventive education, six on treatment and rehabilitation, and seven on research. They were drawn up by government branches and departments to carry forward the ACAN recommendations submitted to the Governor in early June.
The ACAN Special Action Group has made recommendations on the 92 proposals put forward by participants at the drugs summit. As noted in the ACAN report, many of the proposals called for action that was already in hand or was included in the 26-point Forward Action Plan. Other proposals put forward new initiatives which ACAN recommended action by Government. The Government will be following up these recommendations in the 42-point action plan.
The Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, said today: "We now have an enormous programme of work before us, and will be pursuing it vigorously.
"We are looking positively at the proposal for an anti-drug fund, in the context of our overall review of public spending this summer. We should be in a position to make some more concrete proposals by autumn on the funding of drug programmes."
The measures in the follow-up action plan include:
* launching a pilot scheme to develop and implement school-based drug education courses in the 1995-96 school year;
* implementing a pilot scheme for setting up a 24-hour enquiry line for parents and students;
* seconding educators to the Life Education Activity Programme;
* producing a special feature documentary to educate the general public on the drug problem; and
* providing over 300 additional training places in 1995-96 for social workers.
These measures will build on the $30 million 26-point package announced by the Governor at the end of the summit in March.
End/Thursday, July 13, 1995