Individuals detained for substance abuse and drug offence at the Thimphu Detention Centre will get a second chance at life. The PEMA Secretariat has launched the Substance Use Disorder treatment and care services at the Thimphu Detention Centre today to help drug offenders recover from their addiction to substance abuse. The treatment and care services will provide the detainees with knowledge, skills and tools to understand and reduce chance of relapse.
The PEMA Secretariat initiated the programme after conducting a study among 35 drug offenders detained at the Thimphu Detention Centre.
The centre has 57 males and four females under detention for drug offences as of today.
The study revealed a high prevalence of lifetime dependence on both legal and illegal substance use among the detainees.
27 were found to be at moderate and high risk for opioid dependence, and 18 were at moderate and high risk for cannabis dependence. However, only 7 of them sought treatment to overcome addiction.
“We will provide group counselling skills sessions twice a week for one and a half hours. This will be followed by the 12-step programme which will be facilitated by recovering drug addicts. Thirdly, in order to maintain the physical and mental health of the detainees, they will be introduced to mindfulness and yoga which will be carried out during their time in detention,” said Dorji Tshering, Chief Programme Officer of The PEMA Secretariat.
Family counselling will also be included in the programme to guide the family members with after-care practices.
If the six-month pilot programme at the Thimphu Detention Centre is successful, it will also be carried out in other detention centres across the country.
Tshering Deki
Edited by Phub Gyem
