Pubdate: Fri, 04 Nov 2005
Source: Cyprus Mail, The (Cyprus)
Copyright: Cyprus Mail 2005
Contact:  http://www.cyprus-mail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/100
Author: Leo Leonidou
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

NEW DRUG LAW 'A STEP FORWARD'

A new procedure for handling drug users who are not found to be
dealing in illegal substances was announced by the Attorney general,
Petros Klerides, yesterday.

Under the new deal, users who are not involved in dealing will not be
charged with possession and will have their case open for a year. The
amount and type of drug included in the proposal is not yet clear.

Petros Klerides said people will only be charged if they are caught
offending a second time within a year.

The proposal is the first step in modernising Cyprus' notoriously
harsh drug laws, where it is not uncommon for people to be arrested
for the possession of 0.1 gram of cannabis.

KENTHEA, the Centre for Drug Education and Treatment of Drug Addicts,
have come out in favour of the proposal, with Kyriacos Veresies, the
centre's scientific director, yesterday telling the Cyprus Mail that
the proposal will keep a lot of drug users on the path to remedy.

"A lot of people will be helped and will be given the chance to
rehabilitate. We are very positive about the Attorney general's
proposal and will work with the government to try and help as many
people as possible.

"It's very important to try and give drug users every opportunity to
kick the habit and we need to establish more rehabilitation centres
with different programmes and ideas in both the private and public
sectors as different people have different needs."

He added that many Cypriots currently go abroad to Greece and Israel
for treatment. KENTHEA, which was founded in 1994 and whose chairman
is Chrysostomos, the Bishop of Paphos, runs a special open therapeutic
rehabilitation programme in all major towns across the island.

Veresies, a trained psychiatrist and neurologist, said the programme
"gives psychological support and offers a personal approach using
self-help groups".

In addition, the centre also runs educational programs for
adolescents, parents and other organised bodies that are now
implemented quite successfully in municipalities and
communities.

In collaboration with the Municipalities and the Cyprus Youth Board,
KENTHEA operates counselling centres focusing on prevention. This is
an accessible community form of providing immediate help to drug
addicts and their parents with discretion and without bureaucratic
procedures.

Veresies described the problem of drugs on the island as "very
serious", adding that more than 20 people have died from heroin and
cocaine overdoses in the last two years. He said Cyprus must change
its drug laws and make them more lenient.

"Now that we are in the European Union, we must harmonise our laws
with the rest of the EU and accept new realities. We currently don't
even differentiate between soft and hard drugs and the varying amounts
people are caught with, labelling all users under the umbrella of a
'druggie'.

"A lot of discussions on the law have taken place recently, but there
is no chance of cannabis being decriminalised any time soon, as it was
in the UK recently. A study undertaken two years ago revealed that
cannabis is the most popular drug on the island, with 20 per cent of
the population having tried it at some point throughout their lives."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin