In 2001, the medical community in Malaysia embarked on the path of community-based treatment for opioid addiction.
By 2006, evidence has shown that treating opioid addicts as patients rather than criminals has brought about immense changes to the scenario.
For more than 40 years, addicts have been criminalised and incarcerated using the Drug Dependents (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983. Hundreds of thousands would have gone through this system. Evidence has shown that this does not work.
Armed with the conviction that addiction is indeed a neurological disorder, doctors have proven that there is now an alternative solution.
Policymakers and legislators should now enact and enable appropriate specific regulations in the proposed Bill to legally enable patients and doctors to opt for medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
The evidence is compelling. Since 2002, we have taken in more than 24,000 patients into community-based MAT by a network of more than 300 doctors across Malaysia.
HIV-related death rates and drug-related arrests have fallen significantly since 2014. This trend must be allowed to continue to save future generations of Malaysians from the direct and collateral damage from previous policies.
The Addiction Medicine Association of Malaysia (AMAM) strongly urges the government not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Criminalising and mandatory incarceration of addicts are wrong and should be discontinued.
Dr Steven Chow is president of Addiction Medicine Association of Malaysia (AMAM).
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
