Voluntary Treatment Programme for Drug Addicts

This programme was introduced by the government to encourage first-time drug addicts to come forward and volunteer for early treatment. By undergoing treatment in a designated medical institution, volunteers under this programme can avoid having a record of being admitted to a Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC). Participation in this programme will not be counted as a DRC admission or be reflected in the addicts' record.

Addicts who volunteer for this programme will undergo detoxification in a medical institution outside DRC and subsequently undergo a minimum period of six months' rehabilitation in a halfway house of their choice. The volunteer programme is being run at the New Changi Hospital


First-time addicts who wish to undergo this programme, must fulfill the following:

• be a Singaporean or Permanent Resident
• have not been admitted to a DRC previously
• not have any previous criminal or drug records
• not wanted by the law
• have not been in this programme



 Compulsory Institutional Treatment at the DRC

In the DRC, addicts undergo a mandatory treatment and rehabilitation programme. Their stay varies from 6 to 36 months, depending on the progress of the addicts. In general, addicts are put through a conventional 5-stage Treatment and Rehabilitation programme which comprises the following components:


Detoxification
• Addicts undergo a one-week detoxification programme known as "cold turkey" upon admission to the DRCs. This is to rid them of their physical dependence on drugs.


Recuperation
• The addicts are then allowed to recuperate and subsequently channelled to the respective DRCs depending on their categories of admission.


Orientation
• At the various DRCs, the inmates are placed on a one-week orientation programme


Footdrill/ Physical Training and Counselling
• Footdrill and physical training are designed to restore the inmate's health and to instil discipline while counselling is conducted to impart the necessary coping skills and to monitor the progress and well-being of the inmates.


Work or Education, Recreation, Vocational Training / Counselling
• The final stage of the programme comprises mainly work therapy and counselling. Work therapy and counselling attempts to instil work discipline whereby the inmates are put to work in the various industrial workshops in the DRCs. The objective is to inculcate good work habits and to prepare the inmate for employment upon release.



The New Approach

The Government believes that addicts should be held fully responsible for their own actions. If they are determined to kick the habit, the Government would give them more attention and adopt a compassionate and supportive approach. For the recalcitrant addicts, they would face a tougher regime to make them realise that their actions would not be tolerated if they are unwilling to change. They will undergo a tough, penal-like treatment with minimal privileges. The rationale is that since these addicts do not respond to normal treatment, it is necessary to keep them off the streets for a longer period, and to stop them from being a bad influence to others.