Counter-drug policies are data-driven: minister
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) yesterday said the ministry has always held a zero-tolerance stance toward illegal drug use, but anti-drug policies must be based on scientific evidence and implemented strategically.
Shih made the remark in response to questions about the heated debate over drug policies between two Taipei mayoral candidates over the weekend.
The debate was about Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and his re-election campaign team saying that Democratic Progressive Party Legislator and Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) had discussed decriminalization of drug use and mentioned in an 2014 article that Taiwan should establish community centers that provide drug users with clean needles and controlled substances.
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang speaks to reporters in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: CNA
Shen said that he was referring to drug-related harm reduction measures, including methadone maintenance treatment and needle and syringe programs, which have been implemented across Taiwan for years.
In Taiwan, methadone maintenance treatment is taken orally.
Shih said anti-drug policy has three main directions, with the first being “stamping out,” which falls under drug enforcement and prevention. The second is anti-drug “publicity,” which is mainly expanding anti-drug awareness campaigns on campuses. The third is “getting clean and treatment,” in which the ministry plays an important role.
Pilot needle and syringe programs have been implemented in Taiwan since 2005, providing sterile needles and injection equipment to people who inject drugs, to prevent HIV and viral hepatitis B or C transmission as a result of sharing or reusing needles and injection equipment, Shih said, adding that it has proven effective for preventing the spread of HIV.
According to ministry statistics, in 2005, injecting drug users accounted for 72 percent of newly reported HIV invfections, a share that fell to 1.7 percent last year. The number of newly diagnosed HIV cases has been declining year by year since 2018, although there was a slight increase last year he added.
Substitution therapy is another harm reduction measure, because “overcoming drug addiction is a long journey, particularly for users of opioids such as heroin,” as it affects the brain and nervous system, Shih said.
Complete recovery requires a phased reduction, he added.
When substitution therapy was launched in 2006, oral methadone was the main substance provided, and oral buprenorphine was introduced in 2011, he said.
Through a comprehensive community-based treatment plan, including substitution therapy, heroin and opioid users have access to medical care that can help them gradually overcome addiction and reintegrate into society, Shih said.
Evidence shows that harm reduction measures can help people with drug addiction break away from criminal syndicates and reduce crime, he added.
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