XN000022-1995-11-08 — Page 43

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Counselling services for psychotropic substance abusers are provided by PS33 of the Hong Kong Christian Service and the Direction of SARDA. The Hospital Authority has established six Substance Abuse Clinics to provide medical services to psychotropic substance abusers.

(d) Our overall strategy to combat the problems of drug addiction takes a multi-disciplinary approach, covering legislation and enforcement, treatment and rehabilitation, preventive education and publicity, and research.

Our law enforcement agencies, including the Police, Customs and Excise Department and the Department of Health, are taking vigorous actions to detect and prosecute offenders, and to clamp down on the illegal supply of drugs. We have strengthened the Police Narcotics Bureau, and updated the legislation against the laundering of drug proceeds to enable better enforcement action against drug traffickers. The Medical Council and the Pharmacy and Poisons Board are discussing possible new measures to further tighten control on malpractice and the illegal sale of drugs. The Department of Health has increased the number of pharmacy inspections per month from 560 to 700, and set up a special task force to help the prosecution of offending drug retailers. Maximum penalties for the illegal or improper sale of drugs by pharmacies have been raised recently. We are also examining ways of achieving enhanced sentencing against adult drug offenders who involve young persons in the illegal drug trade.

One possible way is to seek to have the exploitation of minors included as an aggravating factor in the guidelines set by the Court of Appeal for reference by lower courts when sentencing convicted drug traffickers.

Specifically on measures to curb the increase in the number of drug abusers, particularly among females and the young, additional treatment facilities are in the. pipeline. SARDA's Women's Treatment Centre is being reprovisioned to accommodate more female clients, and the new centre in North District is expected to open early next year. The Chimawan Detention Centre (Lower) is to be converted into an additional Drug Addiction Treatment Centre for both adult and young female abusers.

For male young abusers, SARDA is undertaking a pilot project to set up a treatment centre for young opiate abusers. A suitable site has been identified in Yuen Long. We will be consulting the District Board and relevant local bodies soon. I hope that they will understand the urgent need for the facility. As the centre will provide in- patient treatment in a closed setting, it should not cause any law and order problem or nuisance to the neighbourhood.