DPM instructs all sectors of govt to step up fight against drugs

The government has advised ministries, other government agencies and local authorities to work together to suppress the drug trade and wipe out drug abuse.
The message was delivered to mark National Day against Drug Abuse and Trafficking on October 12.

General Vilay Lakhamfong speaks at a press conference in Vientiane last week.

Speaking at a press conference last week, Deputy Prime Minister General Vilay Lakhamfong, who is also Minister of Public Security, instructed government bodies at all levels to escalate the war on drugs.
This should involve more publicity, education and awareness-raising among people of all walks of life, especially women and young people, so that they fully understood the risks and dangers associated with drug abuse and trafficking.
The public must respect the law in relation to drugs and everyone should be encouraged to share in efforts to prevent and resolve drug-related problems, the minister said.
More assistance must be provided to the victims of drug abuse in the form of treatment, rehabilitation and vocational training so they returned to good health and were able to become productive members of their families and society.
Government bodies should strengthen legislation and make a greater effort to suppress drug abuse through the allocation of appropriate budgets at both the central and local levels to ensure that the national agenda to tackle drug problems is implemented effectively and achieves the set objectives.
More should be done to discourage people from using and growing plants that contain addictive substances, General Vilay said. Instead, these people should be given help to engage in other occupations and should be subject to strict legal measures if they violate the law by growing such crops.
Drug addiction and the trade and trafficking of drugs has spread from urban to rural areas of Laos and from the plains to remote mountain regions, the minister added.
Today there are many young people, students, factory workers and farmers who have become addicted to drugs, he said.
Some have become troublemakers within their families and communities and have committed robberies, murders and kidnappings. They have also become involved in prostitution, caused accidents on highways through reckless driving, and created disputes among themselves.
The government has worked to help families in remote northern areas adopt stable and legal occupations instead of cultivating opium poppies and marijuana.
Authorities have also provided treatment and rehabilitation for drug addicts and set up counselling services at some community hospitals in an attempt to free them of their addiction.
Under the Party’s Three Builds directive, which states that villages should become grassroots development units, more has been done to ensure that places of education, police departments, production units, and service providers are drug free.
This year, the police have received assistance from other entities, both within Laos and from other countries, to bring drug dealers and traffickers to justice.
Police have made a concerted effort to crack down on the drug trade and have seized a large amount of drugs and drug precursor chemicals, as well as weapons.
During raids and inspections they made numerous arrests and confiscated property and valuables belonging to suspects.
Recognising the urgent need to tackle the burgeoning drug trade, last year the government turned a spotlight on the issue by creating a national agenda aimed at suppressing, combatting and finding solutions to Laos’ drug problem.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update October 12, 2022)