Tunis: The Health Ministry is seeking to develop a draft law on considering drug addiction as a treatable chronic disease rather than as a criminal offense, said, on Monday, pharmacist and divisional inspector at the General Directorate of Pharmacy and Medicines at the Health Ministry, Rim Mansouri Hajri. At a conference held by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the official added that the legislative initiative launched by the Health Ministry, which was submitted to the Prime Ministry, said that the drug consumer should be seen as a patient who must be treated, adding that the bill provides for severe sanctions against dealers. The alarming situation relating to the remarkable increase in drug consumption explains the ministry's approach to revise the legislative framework, she said. She spoke of the findings of the National Survey on Drug Consumption within schools showing a significant increase in drug consumption am ong students aged 13 to 17. Ahead of the 2024-2025 school year, the Directorate of School and University Medical Services is jointly working with the Education Ministry to devise a plan which aims to prevent addictive behavior in schools as part of the 2023-2027 National Strategy on Prevention, Risk Reduction and Care on the Use of Prohibited Psychoactive Substances The conference, organized on the occasion of the International Day, celebrated on June 26 each year, made it possible to present the world report on drugs prepared by UNODC, which shows the increase in drug consumption, with a prevalence of doping. According to the UNODC report, the number of people using illicit drugs increased to 292 million in the decade ending in 2022. It specifies that most consumers in the world use cannabis (228 million people) while 60 million people in the world use opioids, 30 million amphetamines, 23 million cocaine and 20 million ecstasy. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse