// JavaScript Document page=new Array(); page[1]=new Array("index.htm","Home","","A STRATEGY OF CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY PROMOTION. JOIN US WITH A PROPOSAL! Are you worry about the level of drug addiction in Romania? Do you want that things develop faster to the right direction? Do you think that not all the positive energies are used in order to help the ones involved in drug addiction? Wouldn't you like to disconsider the troubles of the persons around you? Do you have an idea? Would you like to help? Join us with a proposal! Read ... Smoke free class competition is a European project in tobacco prevention field, developed through European Network on Young People and Tobacco (ENYPAT) with European Union financial support. The project has been implemented since 1997 in different European countries. In 2001/2002 school year was implemented in 15 European countries (Finland, Germany, French, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and Greece) and involved 500.000 pupils from 18.000 classes. This year the project has been implemented also in Romania. In Romania this project is implemented by the National Anti-drug Agency in partnership with Fresh air Association, member in ENYPAT. The target group is pupils between 11-14 years old. Read ... "); page[2]=new Array("attribution.htm","ANA'S ATTRIBUTIONS ","","THE SCOPE OF ANA'S ESTABLISHMENT The Agency settles the general approach and the unitary co-ordination, on the basis of a national strategy, of the fight against illicit drug traffic and abuse, developed by the competent authorities, by other state institutions and non-governmental organizations, centralizes and monitors the results of the co-operation between the Romanian habilitated institutions and the foreign organizations with attributions in the field. ANA'S ATTRIBUTIONS The Agency has the following attributions: elaborates the national anti-drugs strategy and its action plan and forwards them in order to be adopted by the Government, monitoring the manner of their application; ensures the co-ordination in this field between the institutions, the governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in the National Anti-drugs Strategy's activities; elaborates, monitors, endorses and co-ordinates the national programs for combating the illicit drug production and traffic and money laundering resulted from this kind of activities; elaborates, monitors, endorses and co-ordinates, if the case may be, the national programmes for preventing illegal drug abuse; co-ordinates the prevention activity at national level for the anti-drugs prevention and counseling centers; ensures the connections with the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction and other international bodies in the field; realizes and co-ordinates, at the national level, the activities of collecting, analyzing and spreading data and information on drugs and drug addiction, maintaining the legal confidentiality; establishes the assessment indicators and criteria of drug phenomenon; centralizes, analyzes and synthesizes all data provided by the involved authorities, institutions and organizations; elaborates the annual report on the evolution and the level of drug trafficking and abuse, based on the data supplied, which submits to the Romanian Government and the international bodies competent in ensuring the enforcement of the international conventions provisions, according to the agreements ratified by Romania; elaborates studies, synthesis, phenomenon analyses in the field of fight against drugs, taking action by disseminated materials in order to prevent and reduce of illicit drug production, traffic and abuse; makes proposals of harmonization, updating and adaptation of the legislation in the field according to the international provisions, on the basis of the data related to wideness and national characteristics of drug trafficking and abuse or initiates and founds normative acts in the field; initiates, co-ordinates or endorses, following the case, the research activities in the field; manages the necessary resources for the programmes provided by the Agency and controls their implementation ; manages and administrates the human, economical and technical resources of the Agency; semestrial or when necessary, evaluates the stage of the accomplishment of the National Anti-Drugs Strategy; fulfills every other attributions in the field, according the law. The activities mentioned at articles a) to q) take place without any interference in every institution specific competencies and activities. "); page[3]=new Array("president.htm","CURRICULUM VITAE Proposed position in the project: Romanian Project Leader ","","Family name: Abraham Name: Pavel Date of birth: October 21st, 1948 Nationality: Romanian Marital status: Married Contact: Address: 37 Unirii Bvd., Block A4, sc.1, ground floor Sector 3, Bucharest, Romania Tel.: 0040-021-326.44.00 Fax: 0040-021- 326.67.27 E-mail: pavel.abraham@ana.gov.ro Education: Institution: University of Bucharest Date: 1995 Degree(s) or Diploma(s) obtained Ph.D. in law Institution: University of Bucharest Date: 1979 Degree(s) or Diploma(s) obtained Postgraduate courses (criminology) - Institution: Bucharest School of Law Date: 1974 Degree(s) or Diploma(s) obtained Diploma of License in Law Institution: The Ministry of Interior Active Service Officers' School Date: 1972 Degree(s) or Diploma(s) obtained Police Officer Language skills: (increasing competence from 1 to 5) Language Reading Speaking Writing French 5 5 5 English 4 4 4 Hungarian 4 4 4 Membership of professional bodies: - Member of the All for Life Foundation, Romania - Member in the International Council on Alcohol and Addiction (ICAA) - Honorary President of the Detective National Association in Romania - Honorary President of the Security Patronage Societies in Romania - Honorary President of the Policemen National Body in Romania - Member of the International Policemen Associations (I.P.A.) - Member of the National Criminology Society - Member of the International Criminology Society - Member of the Romanian Professional Journalists Association - Chairman, Romanian Chapter of the Europe 2000 International Association - Honorary member of the Foreign Students Association, Higher Police School Saint Cyr au Mont D'Or, Lyon, France Present position: - President of the National Anti-Drug Agency Years within the organisation: - 1 year Professional Experience Record: Date: March 2003 Location: Bucharest Company: Ministry of Administration and Interior Position: President of the National Anti-Drug Agency Description: Date: January 2001 - February 2003 Location: Bucharest Company: Ministry of Interior Position: Secretary of State, Ministry of Interior Description: Date: May 1999 -January 2001 Location: Bucharest Company: Ministry of Interior Position: Director, Analysis, Strategies, and Resource Planning Independent Service with the Ministry of Interior main staff Description: Date: November 1997 - May 1999 Location: Bucharest Company: Advanced Training Cente Position: Professor Description: Date: 1997 Location: Bucharest Company: General Inspectorate of Romanian Police Position: General Inspector of the Romanian Police Description: Date: 1995 - 1997 Location: Bucharest Company: General Inspectorate of Romanian Police Position: Director, Criminal Investigation Directorate Description: Date: 1993 - 1995 Location: Bucharest Company: General Inspectorate of Romanian Police Position: Head of the Control and Counter-Corruption Corps Description: Date: 1992 - 1993 Location: Bucharest Company: General Inspectorate of Romanian Police Position: Senior Analyst with the Bucharest General Directorate of Romanian Police and Chief Editor of 955 magazine Description: Date: 1990 - 1992 Location: Bucharest Company: Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy Position: Deputy-Commander (vice-chairman) and Dean of the Police Department, Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy, Bucharest Description: Date: 1979 - 1989 Location: Bucharest Company: General Inspectorate of Romanian Police Position: trainer Description: trainer for police, penitentiary duty, passports, and border checkpoints, the Personnel and Education Directorate with the Ministry of Interior main staff Date: 1972 - 1979 Location: Bucharest Company: General Inspectorate of Romanian Police Position: operational and command positions with the Bucharest Police main staff Description: "); page[4]=new Array("pantea.htm","CURRICULUM VITAE ANGELA PANTEA Head of the Romanian Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction ","","Personal Information: Nationality: Romanian Date of Birth: October 30, 1954 Place of Birth: Caransebes, Romania Parents: Neculina & Dumitru Gherghisan Contact: Address: 37 Unirii Bvd., Block A4, sc.1, ground floor Sector 3, Bucharest, Romania Tel.: 0040-021-326.47.87 Fax: 0040-021- 326.67.27 E-mail: angela.pantea@ana.gov.ro Summary of Academic Qualifications December 1997 PhD (Pharmacy, Chemical Analytical Control of Drugs) June 1993 Senior Pharmacist June 1991 Junior Pharmacist September 1979 Pharmacist Training 2001, 2002, 2003 Essential Chemicals & Precursors, Clandestine laboratories, Synthetic Drugs fields Feb-May 1996 Prevention on Drugs, International Labor Organization, Turin, Italy In-service training, London, UK July-September 1994 Chemical analyses of Drugs in body fluids, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Glasgow, United Kingdom June 1994 Chemical analyses of Drugs in body fluids, Milan, Italy August-October 1993 Drugs, qualitative and quantitative control, Governmental Chemistry Laboratory, London, United Kingdom 1993 Analytical chemistry-practical aspects, Bucharest University 1992 Drugs-analytical chemistry field, Drugs Enforcement Administration, Washington DC, United States of America 1991 Drugs toxicology course, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest 1989 Pharmacognosy course, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest 1989 Homeopathy course, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest Work places Responsibilities 2003 National Anti-drug Agency Director of the Romanian Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drugs Addiction 2001-2003 Phare National Drugs Coordinator Phare National Projects Manager 2002-2003 Cooperation& international relations & Programs implementation unit within the General Directorate for Countering the Organized Crime and Anti-drug, General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police Specialized police officer 2000-2002 Essential Chemicals & Precursors, Clandestine laboratories& Synthetic Drugs unit, General Directorate for Countering the Organized Crime and Anti-drug-specialized police officer April 1997-2000 National Drugs Analyses Laboratory General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police General Directorate for Countering the Organized Crime and Anti-drug Specialist in qualitative and quantitative drugs analyses Chief of the Laboratory 1992-1997 National Drugs Analyses Laboratory General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police General Directorate for Countering the Organized Crime and Anti-drug Specialist in drugs analyses 1990-1992 Forensic Laboratory, Police officer, Specialist in drugs analyses 1983-1989 Medical Directorate, Ministry of Interior, Pharmacist 1979-1989 National Institute of Research and Drugs Control, Ministry of Health, Drugs Chemical Control Department, Pharmacist Jobs Descriptions Qualitative and quantitative analyses on licit and illicit drugs Dismantling clandestine laboratories for the illicit manufactures of synthetic drugs International cooperation in the drugs field Prevention activities in the drugs field Pharmacology and toxicology researches Drugs law drafting & legislative harmonization Languages English (intermediate) French (beginner) Computer Abilities PC experience in WinWord, Power Point "); page[5]=new Array("licsandru.htm","CURRICULUM VITAE dr. DUMITRU LICSANDRU Head of the International Relations Directorate ","","Family Name: Licsandru First Name: Dumitru Date of Birth: 22nd February, 1969 Nationality: Romanian Civil Status: Married, 1 child Contact: Address: 37 Unirii Bvd., Block A4, sc.1, ground floor Sector 3, Bucharest, Romania Tel./Fax: 0040-021-326.44.11 E-mail: dumitru.licsandru@ana.gov.ro Education and training: International Visitors Program - U.S. Department of State, International Meridian Center Narcotics Demand Reduction Efforts (2003) Certificate Foundation for Pluralism, National Endowment for Democracy Young Political Leaders School (2002) Certificate University of Bucharest Ph.D.in Chemistry (2001) Ph.D. Diploma Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute - Budapest, OSI-Human Rights Summer School (2000) Certificate Heriott-Watt University, Scottish Development Overseas, European Training Foundation, Phare UNIPHORM Programme - European Union LOLA - Learning about Open Learning - Distance Education Management Course (1999) Certificate University of Bucharest, Faculty of Chemistry, Physics & Chemistry Dpt. (1988-1993) Diploma in Chemistry Language skills: Indicate competence on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 - excellent, 5 - basic) Language Reading Speaking Writing Romanian 1 1 1 English 1 1 1 French 2 3 2 Russian 4 5 4 Present Position: Director, International Relations Department Years within the firm: 1 Key qualification: Project management Strategic management Short-term training Open distance education Planning and implementation of media campaign Professional experience: Date Location Company Position Description Since 2003 Bucharest, Romania National Anti-Drug Agency Director, International Relations Department Coordination of NADA's International Relations and Programs 2001-2003 Bucharest, Romania Inter-Ministerial Commission for the Prevention of Illicit Drugs Abuse Member Coordination of Monitoring & Evaluation Department Strategic Planning 2000-2003 Bucharest, Romania Centre for Legal Resources Program Coordinator Project Planning and Coordination: Police and Community - Together against Domestic Violence, in collaboration with Canadian Embassy and General Inspectorate of Police, 2001-2003 Crossing the Line - Transparency for Confidence, in collaboration with Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute - Budapest and Ministry of Interior, 2002-2003 Specialized Training Activities on Penitentiary Treatment Specific to Different Categories of Prison Inhabitants, in collaboration with General Directorate of Penitentiaries, 2001-2002 The Drugs Use: Where to?, in collaboration with UNICEF Romania and Inter-Ministerial Commission for the Prevention of Illicit Drugs Abuse, 2001-2002 Trafficking in Human Beings, within the framework of the Romania - Yugoslavia Regional Partnership for Democracy Program, in collaboration with Center for Legal Advanced Studies, Belgrade, 2001 Promoting Reform within Romanian Police Program, in collaboration with Ministry of Interior, 2000 Training for Prison Managers, in collaboration with General Directorate of Penitentiaries, 2000 Professional Training for Magistrates and Clerks, in collaboration with Ministry of Justice and Public Ministry, 2000 Specialized Training for Forensics in Public Ministry, in collaboration with Public Ministry, 2000 1999-2000 Bucharest, Romania AGIS-Business Development Project Manager Project Planning and Implementation 1998-1999 Bucharest, Romania Sf. Vasile cel Mare Foundation Project Manager Project Planning and Implementation 1998 Bucharest, Romania Consultanta & Dezvoltare Project Manager Training Project Planning and Implementation 1997 Bucharest, Romania Birks Sinclair & Associates Ltd Manager Assistant Support to the Project Manager and Foreign Experts 1995-1999 Bucharest, Romania University of Bucharest Assistant Scientific Work and Teaching Activities 1992-2000 Bucharest, Romania Zecasin S.A. Chemist Scientific Research "); page[6]=new Array("manea.htm","CURRICULUM VITAE Chief - Commissar Manea Ion Head of the Human and Financial Resources Directorate ","","Personal Data Rank and Name: Chief - Commissar Manea Ion Date of Birth : 21st of June, 1955, Fetesti, Ialomita County Address: Bucharest, Logofat Tautu Street, no.2, Bl. C3, 4th floor, flat no. 17, sector 3 Citizenship: Romanian Marital Status: Married - wife, Manea Marioara - Chief-Agent in the General Department of Foreign Relations and European Accession of the Ministry of Administration and Interior - child, Manea Anca - Madalina, bachelor of Political Science Contact: Address: 37 Unirii Bvd., Block A4, sc.1, ground floor Sector 3, Bucharest, Romania Tel.: 0040-021-326.45.85 Fax: 0040-021-326.67.27 E-mail: ion.manea@ana.gov.ro Education 1974-1978: Mircea cel Batran Navy Institute, Constanta 1983-1985: Academy of High Military Studies - Faculty of General Staff Command 1997 : Post-graduate Course of Improvement in Leadership of Great Operative Units in Military Navy at General Staff Command College of the Academy of High Military Studies 2004 : Post-graduate Course in Management Foreign Languages French - intermediate level Positions (Jobs): 1978-1983: Commander of Fight Unit and Specialist in General Staff at the Division of Missile Vedettes and Torpedo Boats 1983-1985: Student-officer at the Academy of High Military Studies 1985-1990: Torpedo Boat Commander and Officer in the General Staff of the Vedette Brigade 1990-1993: Specialist Officer in the Personnel Department in the Ministry of Defense 1993-2000: Chief of the Bureau for Knowledge and Appointment of Personnel at the Frontier Guard National Headquarters and General Inspectorate of the Frontier Police 2000-2003: Specialist Officer in the Management and Human Resources Department of the Ministry of Interior 07.04.2003 - present: Chief of the Human Resources Department in the Anti-Drug National Agency Publications: - articles in various human resources publications - participation in the drafting of the new normative acts on human resources "); page[7]=new Array("reports.htm","National Reports ","","ROMANIA DRUG SITUATION 2002 REPORT TO THE EMCDDA by the Reitox National Focal Point Evaluation Report 2003 "); page[8]=new Array("decision.htm","DECISION on establishing the National Anti-Drug Agency ","","On the basis of the Article 107 of the Constitution, The Government of Romania adopts the following Decision: Article 1 - It is established the National Anti-Drug Agency, hereafter named Agency, as a specialised body with juridical personality subordinated to the Ministry of Interior. Article 2 - The Agency settles the general approach and the unitary co-ordination, on the basis of a national strategy, of the fight against illicit drug traffic and abuse, developed by the competent authorities, by other state institutions and non-governmental organizations, centralizes and monitors the results of the co-operation between the Romanian habilitated institutions and the foreign organizations with attributions in the field. Article 3 - (1) The Agency is co-ordinated by a secretary of state from the Ministry of Interior, appointed by the decision of the prime-minister, also fulfilling the function of president. (2) - The president is also complying the function of decision maker upon credits and represents the Agency in its relations with the other public authorities, with national or foreign natural and moral persons, and represents it in justice. (3) - During the exercise of his attributions, the president issues decisions compulsory for all the state institutions involved in the fight against drugs. The president of the Agency has the following main attributions: a) co-ordinates the elaboration of the National Anti-Drugs Strategy and of its adopted action plans and acts in order to implement them; b) founds and elaborates proposals for the annual budget which he forwards to the Ministry of Interior; c) monitor and controls the implementation of his own decisions, of the international conventions and agreements to which Romania is part of and proposes measures for realizing the conditions for the integration in the European structures or in other international bodies; d) endorses, according to the law, the setting up of the non-governmental bodies developing complementary actions of preventing illegal drug trafficking and abuse and co-operates with them in order to realize the purpose of their establishment; e) co-operates with the specialized institutions in order to ensure and improve the professional training of its own personnel; f) approves the organizational chart of the Agency, manages the Agency, appoints and dismisses the personnel; (4) - The president of the Agency is supported in his activity by a general manager who is his legal deputy. (5) - The organizational structure of the Agency is to be found in the annex which is a part of the present decision. Article 4 - (1) The following compartments are established and function within the Agency: a) Directorate for assessment - co-ordination, which constitutes the Agency's database regarding the illegal drug production, traffic and abuse, and the capitals laundering, elaborates studies and synthesis concerning drug phenomenon, co-ordinates actions with a high complexity degree that involves the participation of other Ministries and monitors the operations with precursors used in the illicit manufacture of drugs. b) Directorate for preventing illegal drug abuse and co-ordinating at national level the activity for anti-drug preventing and counseling centers; c) Human and Financial Resources Directorate which co-ordinates the allocation of Agency's financial resources, elaborates the necessary documentation for implementing the financing programs and administrates the aspects related to the Agency's human, economical and technical resources; d) Directorate for International Relations which co-ordinates the co-operation and collaboration activities with similar foreign institutions; e) Romanian Observatory on Drugs and Drug Addiction which establishes the indicators and the appreciation criteria on drugs phenomena; f) Compartment of Audit. (2) by the Agency's President Decision, services and offices can be established within the Directorates. Article 5 - (1) The Agency has the following attributions: a) elaborates the national anti-drugs strategy and its action plan and forwards them in order to be adopted by the Government, monitoring the manner of their application; b) ensures the co-ordination in this field between the institutions, the governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in the National Anti-drugs Strategy's activities; c) elaborates, monitors, endorses and co-ordinates the national programs for combating the illicit drug production and traffic and money laundering resulted from this kind of activities; d) elaborates, monitors, endorses and co-ordinates, if the case may be, the national programmes for preventing illegal drug abuse; e) co-ordinates the prevention activity at national level for the anti-drugs prevention and counseling centers; f) ensures the connections with the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction and other international bodies in the field; g) realizes and co-ordinates, at the national level, the activities of collecting, analyzing and spreading data and information on drugs and drug addiction, maintaining the legal confidentiality; h) establishes the assessment indicators and criteria of drug phenomenon; i) centralizes, analyzes and synthesizes all data provided by the involved authorities, institutions and organizations; j) elaborates the annual report on the evolution and the level of drug trafficking and abuse, based on the data supplied, which submits to the Romanian Government and the international bodies competent in ensuring the enforcement of the international conventions provisions, according to the agreements ratified by Romania; k) elaborates studies, synthesis, phenomenon analyses in the field of fight against drugs, taking action by disseminated materials in order to prevent and reduce of illicit drug production, traffic and abuse; l) makes proposals of harmonization, updating and adaptation of the legislation in the field according to the international provisions, on the basis of the data related to wideness and national characteristics of drug trafficking and abuse or initiates and founds normative acts in the field; m) initiates, co-ordinates or endorses, following the case, the research activities in the field; n) manages the necessary resources for the programmes provided by the Agency and controls their implementation ; o) manages and administrates the human, economical and technical resources of the Agency; p) semestrial or when necessary, evaluates the stage of the accomplishment of the National Anti-Drugs Strategy; q) fulfills every other attributions in the field, according the law. (2) - The activities mentioned in alignment (1) take place without any interference in every institution specific competencies and activities. Article 6 - (1) The Ministries and central and local public institutions with responsibilities in the fight against the drug abuse and traffic have the obligation to provide, when the Agency demands, the data regarding the drug phenomenon. (2) On the request of the Agency, the Ministries and the institutions concerned ensure the participation of experts for co-ordinating the major actions, as well as the technical and logistical support for joint actions. Article 7 - (1) The Agency has its own personnel, who can be permanently employed on its functions status or can be detached from the other state institutions for a limited period of time. (2) The maximum number of positions established for the Agency is 40, excluding the dignitary and the positions related to his cabinet. Article 8 - (1) The Agency makes semestrial or annual assessments. At these evaluations can be invited representatives of public and private institutions with attributions in this field, and of non-governmental organizations, as well as experts from the following activity fields: a) General Secretariat of the Government; b) Ministry of Public Administration; c) the central structure for countering illegal drug traffic within the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police; d) Directorate for Countering Organised Crime and Anti-drugs within the Prosecutor's Office by the Supreme Court of Justice; e) National Criminology Institute; f) the specialised structure within the General Customs Directorate; g) the specialised structure within the General Inspectorate of Border Police; h) the specialised directorates within the Ministry of Health and Family; i) the specialised directorates within the Ministry of Education and Research; j) the specialised directorates within the Ministry of Youth and Sports; k) the specialised directorates within the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity; l) the specialised directorates within the Ministry of National Defense; m) the specialised directorates within the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forests; n) National Office of Preventing and Countering Money Laundering; o) Romanian Intelligence Service; p) Foreign Intelligence Service; q) representatives of some international bodies and/or some similar foreign agencies. (2) The conclusions of the analysis are the basis of the actions undertaken by the Agency and the involved institutions. Article 9 - (1) The Agency is fully financed from the state budget. (2) The Agency may benefit from donations and sponsorships, according to the law. Article 10 - (1) For the functioning of the Agency, within 60 days from the day of entering into force of the present decision, the Government will yield into its administration the necessary buildings from the state public or private domain. (2) - The Agency is endowed with a number of auto vehicles established by law, as well as with other necessary goods, furniture, equipments, electric equipments and IT for its optimum functioning. Article 11 - Within 30 days from the day of entering into force of the present decision, the Agency will elaborate the Regulations of organization and functioning, which is approved by the president. Article 12 - On the day of entering into force of the present decision, GD no. 534/1999 on the establishment of the Inter-ministerial Committee for Fighting Against Drugs, published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no.329 from 12 July 1999, as well as any other contrary provisions are abrogated. GD no. 183/ 20 February 2003 (OJ no. 131/23.02.2003) ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT DECISION for modifying GD no. 1489/2002 on establishing the National Anti-Drug Agency According to Article 107 from the Constitution, The Romanian Government adopts the present decision: Single article: - GD no.1489/2002 on establishing the National Anti-Drug Agency, published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 956 from 27 December 2002, is modified as follows: 1. Article 3, alignment(1): Article 3 - (1) The Agency is leaded by a president in the rank of secretary of state, subordinated directly to the Minister of Interior, appointed by Prime Minister's decision, at the Minister of Interior' proposal. 2. Article 7, alignment (2): The maximum number of positions established for the Agency is 40, excluding the dignitary. "); page[9]=new Array("prevention.htm","PREVENTION - ASSISTANCE - COUNSELING ","","1. CONCEPT/ SCOPE/ VISION Till the end of 2004, Romania will put into practice an integrated system of prevention and treatment services, structured in a national network of centres having capacity to implement coherent strategies at local level. Cutting-down the drug demand Developing the national ability for education-informing-prevention-treatment and with programs targeted on illegal drug traffic. 2. GENERAL OBJECTIVES Reducing drug use and addiction among the general population. Diminishing the number of children and youths that start to use drugs. Diminishing drug use and addiction among persons who are in risky situation. Reducing the risks resulting from drug use and addiction. Diagnosing, analyzing and monitoring drug use. Legislative and institutional harmonization with EU regulations. 3. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES Reducing risk factors. Diversifying the means of preventing drug use. Promoting education for health among the population. Diminishing the accessibility of drug availability. Informing the population about the risks and the damages associated to drug use. Involving civil society. Developing co-ordination structures at the local and national level (National Anti-drug Agency). Improving the quality of prevention programs. Providing specific training for the specialists. Creating and promoting alternatives for spending spare time. Changing the public opinion and creating favorable attitudes for preventing drug use and abuse. Strengthening and developing the network of centers for preventing drug use and abuse in all counties. Developing the specific training courses in the university curricula. Creating the opportunities for an active involvement of the private sector by providing prevention and treatment of drug use and abuse. Periodically assessment of the preventing programs regarding the drug use and addiction. Developing and diversifying the co-operation between the national and international agencies having the same goal like drug use prevention. Developing the criminological studies on the data regarding the drug users and dealers. 4. DIFFICULTIES MEET IN DIMINISHING DRUG USE AND ADDICTION Limited financial resources, inappropriate management; The absence of performance indicators and of a data monitoring and centralizing system; Insufficiently structured partnerships between governmental and nongovernmental organizations in carrying out programs of preventing drug use and addiction; The lack of coherence in the Romanian society's acknowledgement regarding the drug use and addiction; The limited capacity of Romanian institutions and authorities empowered to intervene and reduce criminality; The lack of trained specialists to be able to act from an interdisciplinary perspective. 5. OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIMINISHING DRUG USE AND ADDICTION: The existence of political will to elaborate a strategy of preventing drug use and addiction; The developing of an appropriate legal framework regarding the prevention and the fight against drug use and addiction; The involvement of some NGOs in drug use prevention activities; The training of specialists in the fields of education, police, health and youth etc. The allocation of funds from the public health budget - through National Programs - and also the existence of external funding for the prevention of drug use; The potential funding from international financial institutions; The existence of statistic data regarding drug use and the trends of the drug phenomenon; Appropriate working methods and techniques; Changing, at the community level, the public opinion regarding the drug use and addiction; The approval of valuable projects with appropriate audit and control 6. THE ANT-DRUG COUNSELLING AND PREVENTION CENTRES "); page[10]=new Array("relationships.htm","International Relations ","","1. CONCEPT/ VISION/ SCOPE It is a fact that criminality and international organized crime in particular, can be considered borderless institutions whose extent and network can rival the most developed structures of the international bodies. Considering this fact, the institutions active in the field of the fight against drug trafficking and drug use are cooperating with the similar regional, European and international institutions, and especially with those from the member or associated states of the EU, as well as with the appropriate international institutions (the INTERPOL, the EUROPOL, the UN Program for Drug Control, the EU Permanent Committees, etc.) 2. GENERAL OBJECTIVES The international character of the drug issue entails an increase both of the national and international cooperation, the international cooperation and collaboration being crucial to a successful approach of this issue.38 Romania will promote the international cooperation in the fight against the drug phenomenon by means of integration in the western structures and by playing an active role in the international dialog related to drugs, considering the following principles: - The common responsibility of all the states involved in the fight against this plague; - A multilateral, integrated, balanced and active approach, at conceptual level and at the level of institutions directly and indirectly involved in the prevention and fight against drug use as well as other illegal activities related to it; - Complying with the international legislation, especially when respecting other states' sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as fundamental human rights and liberties. 1. The harmonization of the domestic legislation according to the European legislation 2. Establish and strengthen the work relations in the framework of the international networks that develop programs for combating and prevent drug use and addiction 3. Strengthen the co-operation with the European agencies involved in preventing activities, especially with the European Monitoring Center for Drug and Drug Addiction. 3. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES The existing specific objectives are categorized in five directions: coordination, EU relations, relation with other international bodies, bilateral relations and evaluation. I. Coordination The co-ordination of international relations in respect of drug issues is accomplished by the National Anti-drug Agency through its specific structure. This Unit will gather the necessary information from the national and international bodies directly and indirectly involved in the fight against drugs. This information will be used to accomplish the international cooperation functions. This Unit will ensure the data flow between the institutions involved at a national level, and on request at an international level. - Intensifying the international cooperation in matter of penal assistance, in view of integration into the EUROJUST system, including through the liaison magistrates. II. The relations with EU organisms: EMCDDA and Europol Acquis communautaire Given the irreversible process of joining the European Union, Romania will adopt and implement the acquis communautaire and the best practices in the field. Accordingly, Romania will act in respect with the objectives established by the European Drug Strategy 2000 - 2004 and it will carry out the activities provided in the EU drug related Action Plan 2000 - 2004. Romania will participate in the EU programs in the framework of strengthening the Community's policies on drugs. The EMCDDA (European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction) Romania will take steps regarding the signing of an agreement for the rapid adheretion at the EMCDDA structure and will continue to cooperate with this institution and submit the Annual Report regarding the Romania Situation on Drugs. The Europol An international agreement of co-operation stipulating provisions regarding the information exchange and common actions to be taken in the fight against drugs will be signed between Romania and the Europol.39 III. The relations with other international bodies The United Nations Organization Romania will play an active role in the efforts made by the UNO and by the UN Drug Control Program (UNDCP), especially in those meant to develop the international cooperation based on the principles stated during the June 1998 UN General Assembly Special Session. Romania will also be involved in several programs initiated by the UN in this field and will follow the recommendations of the International Narcotics Control Body (INCB). Romania takes part in the works and programs of other agencies and initiatives in this field (the World Health Organization, the World Customs Organization, OIPC Interpol, the Stability Pact). The SECI Center Romania will continue to promote the activity of fight against illegal drug use and trafficking within the Regional Center dealing with the prevention and fight against cross-border criminality in South-Eastern European Countries. The European Council - The Pompidou Group Romania wishes to become a full member of this Group and remains open to all the Group's initiatives and programs for technical cooperation. IV. Bilateral relations Romania's bilateral relations with its neighbor countries will be strengthened by means of drug-related bilateral cooperation agreements, information and experience exchange. The process of signing bilateral agreements with the member countries of the EU and the NATO will continue. Romania will seek to sign bilateral agreements with the countries considered to have a high risk in drug related issues. Romania will try to sign mutual contracts with the countries directly or indirectly involved in drug related issues, taking into account their evolution. "); page[11]=new Array("strategy.htm","NATIONAL STRATEGY ON DRUGS 2003 -2004 ","","This Strategy is the result of the common efforts of the representatives of the ministries involved in the fight against drugs, in collaboration with representatives of various public and private organizations. Chapter 1 - GENERAL PRESENTATION Chapter 2 - INTRODUCTION Chapter 3 - GOVERNING PRINCIPLES, STRATEGIC VIEW, GOAL AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STRATEGY Chapter 4 - SPECIFIC INTERVENTION AREAS Chapter 5 - INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK Chapter 6 - INFORMATIONAL SYSTEMS Chapter 7 - FINANCING Chapter 8 - EVALUATION "); page[12]=new Array("strategy_1.htm","GENERAL PRESENTATION ","","Foreword from the Romanian Prime- Minister Why a National Strategy on Drugs? Adrian Nastase, Romanian Prime-Minister According to some UN, Interpol and Europol estimations, the drug market is, after the weapons market, positioned on the second place, with hundreds of billions of dollars obtained every year from this business. That's why conjugated and sustained efforts are needed, involving all states, in order to eradicate this plague that affects a great number of people all around the world, especially young people. Drug problem is one of particular significance, when considering also our country's geographical position on the main European communications routes, between the drug producing countries and those facing major drug-related problems. If Romania was mostly a transit country in the beginning of the '90s, when so-called Balkans route has developed targeting the West-European countries, a profitable and fast-evolving drug-market is now growing also on our national territory. In the context of the current effort carried out at world scale in the fight against terrorism and taking into account the fact that the profit raised from the drug market represents one of the main supports for the terrorist groups, the Romanian Government, through its specialized institutions, has been taking special measures to eradicate this phenomenon. In this order, it is very important for us to have an effective system for surveillance and control, from the state border, to the inland territory, able to cut down as much as possible the access of the illicit drugs in Romania. I take into consideration the measures for preventing and countering the illegal drug trafficking in Border checkpoints and Customs, as well as the international cooperation with all institutions involved in the fight against drugs, in order to obtain information about producing areas, transit routes, destinations areas and persons involved, so to limit at least, if not stopping this ascending phenomenon. The Ministry of Interior, especially through the Border Police, has taken specific measures in order to increase the level of security at the State Borders, and so to uncover and to stop any attempt to introduce drugs in Romania. Also, through its General Directorate for Countering Organized Crime and Anti-Drug, the Ministry of Interior has been continuously fighting for the identification and interdiction of the drug smugglers that fuel the Romanian market with drugs or take part into the international crime networks which cross-over our country. In order to have a concrete program of action against this plague, Romanian specialists elaborated this National Strategy on Drugs 2003-2004. This document comes to complete the legislative framework and the main directions of action for all institutions involved in the fight against drugs, to be a tool for future projects and evaluations in the drug field. It is also of great importance for us to re-evaluate the role of the school and of the family in the education of youth, in order to decrease substantially the number of those who become victims to drugs. I do not intend to say just lip service, but only maintaining the health of future generations, will ensure the vitality of the nation and the chance for a normal growing of the Romanian society. I consider it as a great responsibility for Romania's Government and we will act accordingly. In 2000, the Parliament adopted the Law no. 143 regarding the fight against illicit drug trafficking and use, developed in accordance with UN, UE and Council of Europe's demands and objectives, which ensures the legislative framework in the field. I intend to mention also the importance of preventive measures, that must be taken into consideration by the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education and Research, Ministry of Justice and, last but not least, Ministry of Health and Family, which has great responsibilities in this field. I also consider equally that an adequate financial support is needed and we are ready to ensure this support, but we are determined also to control very strictly the way these funds will be spent. It is also necessary to strengthen the activities carried out in order to decrease at national level the number of young drug addicts and to monitor this issue as much as possible. I asked all my collaborators, all the NGO's involved, not to ignore those who struggle to expel the drugs, but to support them in rehabilitation and social reintegration. It is even more difficult to speak about social reintegration, because we have to speak about the entire education system in Romania. A great responsibility comes for teachers, for families, in order to support the former drug-addicted to regain their place and to finish their education. I am also thinking of all the efforts that have to be done by the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity - through its Department for Social Assistance, in order to help the former drug addicted persons to reintegrate into society, to have a certain and legal source of income, to live a normal life, free of drugs. I am waiting for a stronger and more active presence in our social life from all NGO's that have programs which target the drug supply and drug demand reduction. I consider that on this turning point we need support and assistance from all those that can save the drug victims, that can reintegrate them into society and even develop a social surveillance system for drug addicts, until their final social reintegration. The Drug Prevention and Counselling Centers could play a key role in this field. In the end, I want to express my hope that the National Strategy on Drugs will be an efficient and reliable tool, able to achieve all its goals and to contribute at the decreasing of the illicit drugs abuse. "); page[13]=new Array("strategy_2.htm","INTRODUCTION","","Foreword from the National Drug Coordinator The plague represented by the drug abuse is one of the most complex, tragic and profound situations of the modern society. If the word drug meant very little for most of the Romanians until 1990, the situation evolved quickly after 1990, Romania gradually becoming a transit and deposit country in the beginning, a drug market for most of these substances on their way to Occident after a few years. The drug trafficking and abuse is a great threat for the humanity, with considerable consequences both into social and economic field. We hear every year from different sources about huge amounts of money being used for harmful actions, about how the organised crime ignores the law and the authorities. On the other hand, millions of people are added every year to those already addicted to white death, and part of them are lost forever. The worldwide extinction of the phenomenon overwhelms the medical or the police service, becoming a threat to the economic and social world's order, surpassing the national borders. That is why, when fighting against this plague, it is of great importance to elaborate a coherent national strategy, which ensures the coordination of all drug related fields: abuse, supply, production, traffic, prevention and treatment. Considering that the fight against drugs needs a legislative framework, besides the adequate educational, economical, social, medical and administrative framework, Romania's specific problems in the drug field, as well as the necessity of countering the drug trafficking and abuse, correlative with preventive action for drug abuse and addiction were taken into account in the development of the present National Strategy. This Strategy intends, on short term, to create the institutional framework and to develop the adequate capacity for tackling the drug problem; on long term, to decrease the number of drug users, together with the development of the national capacity for education-information-prevention-treatment activities, and of high effectiveness institutions and programs for combating the illegal drug trafficking. "); page[14]=new Array("strategy_3.htm","GOVERNING PRINCIPLES, STRATEGIC VIEW, GOAL AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STRATEGY ","","Governing Principles 1. The principle of priority. The problem of preventing and countering drug trafficking, consume and addiction is assumed as a priority by the Romanian Government. 2. The principle of individual option. The drug prevention takes into account the complexity of the phenomenon, which also includes the individual option. 3. The principle of unitary global vision. The countering and preventing measures are based on a unitary and global vision of the problem. 4. The principle of unitary co-ordination and co-operation between all the sectors involved. The countering and prevention practices and procedures will be adapted to the social and cultural characteristics of the population. 5. The principle of professionalism in all fields of action. The combating of the drug trafficking, the prevention of drug use and addiction requires appropriate specialized training, as well as sharing of the information, good practices and working tools in all fields of action. 6. The principle of complementarity. The civil society involvement jointly with governmental institutions, in the accomplishment and extension of drug use and addiction prevention programmes is a real necessity. 7. The principle of continuity. All activities developed with respect of the combating of drug trafficking and drug use and addiction prevention will be carried out on a permanent basis. 8. The principle of legality. Respecting of the Human Rights as well the provisions of the international treaties and agreements signed by Romania is a binding condition in approaching of this phenomenon. 9. The principle of confidentiality. Personal data resulted from specific anti-drug activities cannot be disclosed to the public. 10. The principle of non-discrimination. The specific anti-drug activities are addressed to all citizens, regardless their sex, ethnic group or religious beliefs. View Till the end of 2004, Romania will put into practice an integrated system of prevention and treatment services, structured in a national network of centers having full capacity to implement coherent strategies at local level. At the same time, the anti-drug structures and programmes will become more effective in view of reducing trans-border drug trafficking having as consequences the drug demand reduction at internal level, and the dismantling of multi-national networks at international level. Goal Providing a realistic approach to the problematic of illegal drug use and trafficking, the measures proposed in this strategy have as their main goal drug demand and drug supply reduction (it is known that the fight against this phenomenon, even in the most developed nations of the world, did not result in its eradication). Objectives 1. To initiate and support a political and non-political debate at the national level, having as main goal the decrease of drug abuse and improving the addicts' situation; 2. To encourage the participation of private institutions, groups, associations and individuals in this field; 3. Intensifying and diversifying the activities regarding the drug use prevention, especially for the first time users, as well the developing the criminological studies on drug users or smugglers; 4. Strengthening the fight against illegal drugs use and trafficking as well against organized crime associated to the drugs use and trafficking, intensifying the co-operation of Police, Customs and judiciary authorities, also the co-operation with similar authorities from other countries, especially with the EU countries; 5. Emphasizing the awareness of the need to approach the drug use problem from a global point of view, considering all substances that can be used as drugs and lead to addiction, including alcohol and tobacco; 6. Organizing a public healthcare and medical services into an integrated network in order to ensure the efficient involvement of the existing resources and to offer a large scale of therapeutically alternatives, as well to facilitate the social recover of drug users; 7. Intensifying and diversifying the measures to combat illegal drug trafficking, money laundering and other linked activities through the improving of the coordination between all responsible agencies; 8. Improving the legal framework in order to ensure multiple ways of response, permanent adapted to the dynamics of the phenomenon; 9. Paying attention to the collection, analysis and disseminating of reliable and comparative data regarding the drug use in Romania, with the support of the Romanian Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction of the National Anti-Drug Agency and other institutions in the drug field; 10. Intensifying the international co-operation both through the participation to the specialized international organizations and strengthening bilateral and multilateral relations with certain countries or geographic areas; 12. Ensuring the evaluation of all activities accomplished in the field of drugs, on periodical basis and efficiently. "); page[15]=new Array("strategy_4.htm","SPECIFIC INTERVENTION AREAS ","","4.I.- Drug Demand Reduction 4.I.A.- Preventing drug use I. Introduction and analysis of the situation This document represents the action plan at the governmental level, in the field of fight against drug use and addiction, and it is based on an integrating analysis of the phenomenon during the period 1990-2002 (based on studies made by both governmental and non-governmental institutions and also on national and international studies as well on statistics and practices in this field of action). 1. Characteristics of drug use and addiction in Romania: a) The spreading of the phenomenon all over the country, in the same time with the extension of drug trafficking networks at the national and international level; b) The use on a larger scale of psychotropic medicines and of barbiturates without medical prescription, often used in combination with alcohol; c) The increase of the number users and owners of drugs, such as heroine, cannabis, Opium, cocaine etc., and the growing number of cases when drugs are injected, even from the very first use; d) The increasing number of alcohol and tobacco users, in the 15-24 years of age range, and especially among women; e) The growing number of pupils that use amphetamine; f) The setting of new drug users groups and also of the distribution groups based on age or micro-geographical criteria; g) The increasing of indigenous alcohol and tobacco production, as well the growing number of advertising campaigns for imported tobacco and alcohol; h) The spreading of drug use in clubs, discotheques, entertainment areas, abandoned houses, university campuses, etc. 2. Key factors of drug use and addiction: a) The lack of information and education in the drugs field; b) The society's acceptance of tobacco and alcohol; c) The diminishing of children's surveillance by parents, as well the parents' lack of responsibility and involvement of some of them; d) The companions' pressure felt by youths; e) The accessibility of the first doses and the curiosity of testing drugs, which lead to further use that represents addiction and not only experimenting; f) The expanding of national and international drug trafficking networks; g) The improvement of the economic status of certain social groups; h) The precarious economic situation of some users, which determines the affiliation to trafficking networks, in order to get money to buy drugs; i) The migration of children towards big cities, which results in the street children associated with the use of inhalant substances; j) The existence of some unsolved crisis situations among teenagers; k) The little experience authorities and civil society in fighting against this new phenomenon, which led to incoherent reactions and partial results; l) The fact that pupils miss classes becoming integrated in risky groups.5 3. Programs for preventing drug use and addiction In view of achieving the drug use prevention within the National Program for preventing and fighting against drug use, the Inter-ministerial Commission for the Prevention of Illegal Drugs Use (C.I.P.C.I.D.), came into being by a Common Order, and being formed of representatives of the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health and Family, Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Education and Research, Ministry of Youth and Sports. The Commission's activity was also open to civil society, by the participation of the most significant NGOs to activities related to preventing drug use and addiction. In order to co-ordinate the activities carried out at the local level, a national network has been created; it consists of 47 Anti-Drug Prevention and Counselling Centers, at the level of each county and also of each sector in Bucharest. With the Romanian Government financial support, CIPCID has implemented the project Drug use: where to?, project which has being accomplished jointly with the Center for Legal Resources and UNICEF Romania and it consisted on informative and educational activities regarding the fight against illegal drug use among the youths and the promotion of a healthy life style that would explicitly reject drugs. The activities carried out by this project provided the initial training of the staff working in the local centre, and it offered anti-drug counselling for some future programs on drug use prevention. At the same time, under the slogan IT'S ONLY UP TO YOU, the project carried out the largest campaign with a social profile at the national level - it consisted of advertising on TV and radio, broadcasted on local and national stations, and of activities for the youths (concerts, exhibitions, seminars, contests etc.). All these activities have been carried out in partnerships with several ministries (Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health and Family, Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Education and Research, Ministry of Youth and Sports) and other national and international institutions. In the framework of preventing drug use and addiction, the Ministry of Health and Family and the Ministry of Education and Research - in partnership with NGOs - have elaborated the contents of the program for health education to be used in schools starting the next year. It seeks to involve teachers and pupils in the process of acknowledging the drug use phenomenon and of developing communication, interaction and health behaviour skills among the pupils, from elementary school to high school. The activities carried out by the Commission come as a continuation of previous programs implemented by the ministries that are members of the commission, in collaboration with NGOs (educational programs in schools, informative materials, specialized training sessions, studies, media campaigns, seminars, etc.). In the case of the above-mentioned programs, the lack of appropriate evaluation and studies covering the entire population render the monitoring of changes in behaviour and attitude towards drug use and addiction very difficult. 4. Opportunities for diminishing drug use and addiction: a) The existence of political will to elaborate a strategy of preventing drug use and addiction; b) The developing of an appropriate legal framework regarding the prevention and the fight against drug use and addiction; c) The involvement of some NGOs in drug use prevention activities; d) The training of specialists in the fields of education, police, health and youth etc. e) The allocation of funds from the public health budget - through National Programs - and also the existence of external funding for the prevention of drug use; f) The potential funding from international financial institutions; g) The existence of statistic data regarding drug use and the trends of the drug phenomenon; h) Appropriate working methods and techniques; i) Changing, at the community level, the public opinion regarding the drug use and addiction; j) The approval of valuable projects with appropriate audit and control.16 5. Difficulties met in diminishing drug use and addiction: a) Limited financial resources, inappropriate management, b) The absence of performance indicators and of a data monitoring and centralizing system, c) Insufficiently structured partnerships between governmental and nongovernmental organizations in carrying out programs of preventing drug use and addiction, d) The lack of coherence in the Romanian society's acknowledgement regarding the drug use and addiction, e) The limited capacity of Romanian institutions and authorities empowered to intervene and reduce criminality, f) The lack of trained specialists to be able to act from an interdisciplinary perspective. II. General and Specific Objectives A. General Objectives: 1. Reducing drug use and addiction among the general population 2. Diminishing the number of children and youngsters that start to use drugs 3. Diminishing drug use and addiction among persons at risk 4. Reducing the risks related to drug use and addiction 5. Monitoring, analyzing and diagnosing the drug use 6. Legislative and institutional harmonization with EU regulations B. Specific Objectives: a. Reducing risk factors b. Diversifying the means of drug use prevention c. Promoting education for health among the population d. Diminishing the drug availability e. Rising the population awareness about the risks and damages related to drug use f. Involving civil society g. Developing co-ordination structures at local and national level (National Anti-Drug Agency) h. Improving the quality of preventing programs i. Providing specific training for the specialists j. Creating and promoting alternatives for leisure time k. Changing the public opinion and creating favourable attitudes for the prevention of drug use and abuse l. Strengthening and developing in all counties the network of centers for the prevention of drug use and abuse m. Developing the specific training courses on drug abuse prevention in the university curricula n. Creating the opportunities for an active involvement of the private sector in providing prevention and treatment for drug use and abuse o. Developing periodical evaluation of the preventing programs regarding the drug use and addiction p. Developing and diversifying the co-operation between the national and international agencies having similar responsibilities in drug abuse prevention q. Developing the criminological studies based on the data regarding the drug users and dealers 4.I.B. Medical and psychological assistance, rehabilitation and social reintegration I. Introduction The drug use and its consequences represent one of the major issues the contemporary European society has to cope with and also a major issue in the big cities. Drug addiction is a large-scale phenomenon, given its multifunctional, changeable and dynamic characteristics, affecting all the age groups, but especially the 18 - 35 group of age. Also, it represents a major public health issue, given its crucial consequences on the individual (delinquency, social, death by overdose or suicide, infectious diseases spread - AIDS, HIV, TB), familiar, social and work-related levels. Other drug categories, like heroin, cannabis, cocaine, etc, added in recent years to the traditional drugs, like alcohol, and tobacco. This complex phenomenon should be addressed in a global and integrated manner, because of the above-mentioned causes, considering the levels: - Drug Demand Reduction; - Dr- Drug Supply Reduction; - International Co-operation. Moreover, in order to avoid possible conflict situations between the involved structures, a series of permanent mechanisms, aimed at coordinating the activities of these structures, is necessary. The reduction of the drug demand and of the drug supply, the prevention and the social insertion/reinsertion make up an integrated process. In terms of practical effects, these chapters are focused in the last two formulations. Drug addiction as a chronic disease The processes the drug addiction is based on are considered like aspects of chronic diseases, taking in them course relapses and recurrences or spontaneous recoveries or consequently after the treatment. The determinant factors that trigger and maintain these processes require the interaction between the genetic predisposition and a series of psychological and socio-cultural factors. Drug addiction treatment According to the WHO (1998), the treatment of drug addicted is a process that starts when a psychoactive substances user comes firstly in contact with a healthcare facility or a communitarian service. This process should keep on by alternating some specific interventions for the patient welfare and good condition. In most cases the therapeutic approach of an addicted needs, partially and simultaneously, the co-ordination of different means of assistance. Thus, it should be said that the very each element of the system is a necessary but not sufficient factor of a complex therapeutic process that requires jointly efforts for sustaining the drug addicted. The treatment, that includes diagnosis, medical assistance and social reinsertion of the drug addicted persons, has as main goal the improving wellness and the quality of their life, by reducing drug addiction and drug related morbidity and mortality caused by the use of these substances and also through maximum exploitation of individual capabilities, facilitating the access to provided services and complete social reintegration. II. General and Specific Objectives A. General objectives: Ensure adequate medical assistance for the drug addicts, as part of the public health services system, including for those being in penitentiaries. Establish a health network compliant with the present needs. Help the social reintegration of the drug addicts. Develop and strengthen the data systems. Support the introduction of risk-reducing strategies. Make Romanian legislation compliant with the EU standards.25 B. Specific objectives: 1. Guarantee the universal, public, free, professional and specialized characteristics of the medical and psychosocial assistance for the drug addicts. 2. Set up a widespread, diversified and professional network offering adequate assistance and embedding all the specific therapeutic structures, and establish their competences. 3. Coordinate and cooperate with other medical centers/services handling the treatment of the associated disorders. 4. Define the therapeutic circuit of the medical assistance system and the social reintegration system of the drug addicts. 5. Encourage and support the social and work reintegration 6. Develop and consolidate the data systems. 7. Stimulate the drug addicts' access to the programs for the reduction of the drug use negative consequences. 8. Objectives to be followed: reducing the incidence of infectious diseases, reducing the use of illegal products, raising the quality of life. 9. Asserting the ambulatory treatment programs for methadone addicts as a national priority in the action plan. 10. Include the ambulatory therapy for drug addicts in the detention centers: provide free and universal medical assistance. 11. Professional training and research 4. II. - Drug Supply Reduction 1. General considerations Romanian authorities have been concerned regarding the assuring a strict regime of narcotic substances, issuing for this purpose a coercive measures of a penal and administrative nature for those who violate the law. The restrictive policy regarding the free circulation of persons applied before 1989 allowed a very strict control of the borders, which determined drug dealers and traffickers to avoid the Romanian territory. That is why drug trafficking at that time appeared only as a sporadic and inconsistent phenomenon. The transition towards a democratic society, the complete opening of the state frontiers, the transition towards a market economy, as well as the geographic position represented important factors in including Romania in the Balkan Route of trafficking drugs from the producing countries to the consuming countries. Romania tends to become a real swivel plate and to remain a prevalent and almost compulsory transit area for drug dealers. Thus, the traffic routes start from Afghanistan, go through Istanbul, Sofia, Bucharest or Belgrade and leave the Balkan Region heading towards Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany and Holland. The evolution of drug trafficking and also drug use, as well as the extent of the drug seizures during the past two years, bring us to the conclusion that Romania is about to become a new market in the context of European countries also known as great drug users, such as Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy, France and Great Britain. Statistical data illustrate that the above-mentioned phenomenon has taken unprecedented proportions in between 1990-1997: there have been discovered 412 cases of drug trafficking, in which 649 persons have been involved (219 were Romanian citizens), and 20,697.798 kg of drugs has been confiscated. In the period 2001- July 2002 the figures went up to 1,545 drug trafficking cases, 1,978 persons involved (of which 1798 were Romanians) and 64,485.485 kg of drugs seizured. At the same time, the number of Romanian citizens arrested for being involved in drug trafficking in several countries worldwide has increased significantly. In addition to the above-mentioned, the commercialization of drugs on the Romanian territory has reached increasing values. Thus, the drug use expanded all over the country, especially in Bucharest and the other major cities, affecting various segments of society, so that the used drugs diversified - injected heroine, opium, cocaine, amphetamine, cannabis. The use of medicines that in combination with alcoholic drinks have hallucinogen effects has also increased. A relevant indicator of the functioning of the drug market in Romania is the registration of the first cases of drug related deaths caused by the overdoses. Drugs use is one of the serious social problems that Romanian society faces with. In the case of many persons, especially young ones, this leads to addiction, becomes a source of suffering, diseases, poverty, social isolation, unemployment etc. This affects not only the social behavior of the addicted persons, but also the life of the families or communities to which they belong. Drug use induces a continuous amplification of the request on the drug market and it amplifies a proportionally direct increase of the supply of these substances. In front of this scourge with multiple social implications, some preventing actions based on a strategy of reducing the drugs supply are necessary.29 2. Defining the Romanian concept of keeping drug use under control and defining the legal framework applicable in this domain A. Definition:Taking into account the evolving tendencies of this phenomenon, at both national and international level, the Romanian concept of keeping drug use under control is mainly focused on the following aspects: - adhering at international conventions in this respect and aligning the legislation to these conventions' provisions, as well as harmonizing them with the valid regulation at the EU level; - sanctioning accordingly illegal any act or fact regarding operations with drugs; - applying different punishments, according to the nature and quantity of drugs, and to the organized character of the facts; - exemption from penal charges, before penal formalities start, for the persons who denounce to the competent authorities the participation to an association or an agreement involving drug trafficking, allowing thus the acceleration of the identification process of the other persons involved and the pressing of penal charges of the other participants. - reducing the punishment by the half for the person who denounces and facilitates the identification and prosecution of other persons that have been involved in illegal actions related to drugs; - considering the drug users are victims of this phenomenon and allowing them to benefit from treatment and social reintegration measures; - giving the appropriate authorities in the domain the possibility to use specific modern methods, such as controlled deliveries or undercover investigators and their collaborators in order to discover criminal facts, identify the authors and produce proofs in the situations in which there is strong evidence that crimes involving drug trafficking are committed; - co-operating at the national and international level with the institutions accredited to fight illegal drug trafficking; - strengthening border security and improving the systems of monitoring the means of transportation, the cargo, the goods and persons known as being involved in drug trafficking; - controlling the precursors used for obtaining illegal drugs; - issuing legal provisions regarding the regime of cultivating plants used for the extraction of narcotic substances; - seizure, arresting and extraditing the persons pursued at the international level for crimes that have as object drug trafficking. - providing the General Inspectorate of Border Police, the General Customs Department and the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police with appropriate equipment for drug detection and intensifying the drug detecting activities by using specially trained dogs. - assuring a permanent improvement of the legislative framework that is necessary for an effective fight against drugs trafficking (the draft of the law concerning the witness protection and prevention and combating organized crime, documents elaborated by the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior and that are now on the Romanian Parliament agenda). B. The legal framework with incidence in this domain We might say that Romanian authorities in charge with fighting against drug supply benefit from a modern, coherent and effective legislative system which allows them to approach the drug use and drug trafficking in a systemic, multi-disciplinary, and inter-departmental manner, which is synchronized with international legislation. On the other hand, most of the incident legislation valid in Romania is already harmonized with the EC regulations regarding the fight against drug production, traffic and use; the EC effectively participates in the harmonization process, which is in its final stage, by sending prestigious specialists to assist in the elaboration process of projects for specific laws. The main laws with incidence in the analyzed domain are presented in the Chapter no. 5 of this strategy. 3. Internal and international risk factors: The geographical positioning of Romania at the intersection of the main routes used by drug traffickers; The continuous increase of the number of drug users and - implicitly - the development of the distribution networks; Romanian citizens' involvement in drug trafficking activities as couriers, storage agents, intermediaries or distributors; The increase of criminality in domains strictly related with illegal drug trafficking and use, including money laundering activities influencing the financial and banking spheres; The increase of trans-border criminality, by the direct involvement in illegal actions on the Romanian territory of criminal organizations acting in several countries; Diversifying the means of committing crimes, especially the use and purchase of fire weapons by hiring professional criminals; The existence of possibilities to produce natural and synthetic drugs in our country, as well as the illegal cultivation of plants from which drugs can be extracted; The implication in corruption activities of public clerks having direct responsibilities in the control activity; The opening in Romania of phantom-companies by citizens of some drug producing or destination countries, which cover illegal drug trafficking activities; The intensification of the migration phenomenon of citizens from African and Asian countries, which are well-known as drug-producing countries; The danger posed by the terrorist networks involved in the drug trafficking, in order to obtain funds from these illegal activities. 4. General and Specific Objectives A. General objectives Diminishing the drug supply by 30% in the next two years; Diminishing the drug supply through permanent control of the drug supply; Controlling the illegal production and trafficking by means of co-operation between the state authorities having responsibilities in this field, as well as by means of co-operation at the international level; Legal and institutional compliance with Romania's commitment to the process of EU integration; Participating to international programs in the field; Diagnosing and monitoring the drug offer. B. Specific objectives a. Reducing risk factors; b. Counter-balancing international drug trafficking by criminal organizations specialized in drug production, transport and selling, and with structures in two or more countries; c. Intensifying the control activities at the border crossing points; d. Preventing and fighting drug distribution by final consumers - micro traffic; e. Strengthening institutional co-operation at the national and international levels; f. Diminishing the number of drug-related crimes; g. Significantly reducing money-laundering techniques; h. Diminishing drug accessibility and availability; i. Involving civil society in the fight against drugs; j. Developing and improving the co-ordination structures at the national and international levels; k. Training of the specialists in the field; l. Changing of the public opinion and forming an attitude that would lead to the operational notification of authorities by citizens, regarding persons involved in drug trafficking; m. Permanent evaluation of the carried out activities; n. Providing appropriate financial resources for the application of the drug supply reduction strategy. o. Developing and diversifying the co-operation between the Ministry of Justice and other national and international institutions which have as an objective the fight against drugs trafficking. 5. Directions of action In order to reach the strategic objectives of drug supply reducing, the following directions of action have been established: a) Intensifying control at the Romanian state border, by both Border Police and the Customs Service representatives, having as goal preventing and discouraging fraud, by efficient use of the equipment available for the detection and testing of certain substances, by using trained dogs, especially in the case of goods and persons coming from African or Asian countries, which are known as great drug production areas, and also in the case of discovering drugs and precursors in containers, parcels, cargos and transport means or on persons - by using the data provided by the staff specialized in this field; b) Providing conditions that allow the approach with optimal results of the PHARE Regional Project managed by EUROCUSTOMS, launched in Romania on 15 February 2002 (which starts from the previous achievements, especially from the mutual program UNDCP-PHARE) regarding the strengthening capacities for fight against drugs in the South-Eastern Europe, in view of improving control activities at the border points; c) Increasing exigency in the Customs authorities activities of controlling persons, vehicles, wares and other goods signaled at the border as potentially illegal drugs or precursors, in view of detailed control and, whenever the case, prohibition to come in or get out of Romania. d) Organizing the Customs checking out in the areas that are under its competence or supervision, in view of the identification drugs or precursors, as well as verifying the evidence, request for documents and information from other states' customs authorities directly related with the imported, exported or transited goods. e) Permanent documentation about organized national and international trafficking groups and the methods used for transportation in various countries, routes, identification of storage areas, distributors, and establishing criminal links. f) Carrying out permanent and sustainable activities of knowing and combating drug micro-traffic in specific areas within major cities; reducing the commercialization in order to diminish the drug use among the youths and to reduce the number of drug related deaths caused by drug addiction.32 g) Preventing and fighting illegal operations involving precursors trafficking, through verification of the destinations, precursors use and the identification of clandestine drug laboratories. h) Carrying out synchronized actions took jointly with the Ministry of Industry and Resources and the Ministry of Health and Family, in order to identify - in addition to the 24 substances specified in Annex 1 to Law no 300/2002, which are subject to international control - other substances that can be categorized as precursors and that will make the object of special surveillance operations, according to the objectives of the Synthetic Drugs and Precursors PHARE Project, coordinated by the Dutch Ministry of Justice (having as target the development of detecting the capacities of synthetic drugs, closely related to precursors trafficking). i) Carrying out urgent and sustained activities for the implementing the advising and authorizing system for the precursors-related activities, according to the rules stipulated in Law no. 300.2002 and in the Government Decision on the approval of the regulations regarding the application of the above-mentioned law. j) Increasing the staff with anti-drug competence within the General Directorate of Customs, a permanent training of the professionals, knowing and executing the new methods of prevention and countering the drugs trafficking. According to the financial situation, it will be established the necessary equipment for the laboratories of physical and chemical analysis of the substances that might be drugs, drugs detection in the transportation vehicles and loads. k) Improving the system for authorizing and approval the cultivating plants from which drugs can be extracted (cannabis, opium poppy), as an essential action of preventing the illegal cultivation of such plants in Romania. l) Intensifying the collaboration between the Ministry of Finances, the National Bank of Romania and the other financial institutions in view of using specific tools against money laundering derived from criminal acts and especially from organized crime and drug trafficking. Taking the necessary measures for the implementing PHARE Project for Fighting against Money Laundering signed by the European Commission on 31 January 2002, which targets Central and Eastern European countries and which involves all the national institutions working in this field, together with the National Institute for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering. l.1. Permanent exchanges of information between the structures within the Ministry of the Interior, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Justice, and the other specialized agencies in other countries. l.2. Improving the legal and institutional framework by adopting efficient legal provisions, by creating new, adequate institutional structures and by improving the existing ones in order to ensure the coordination of the policies regarding the prevention and fight against this phenomenon, along with the assistance and international co-operation policies. l.3. Attracting internal and international financial resources in view of financial support of the strategic objectives. m) Developing the information analysis and registration at the Anti Drug Squad level (within the General Police Inspectorate) in order to centralize data, carry out strategic and operational analyses, which will allow the evaluation of the real situation regarding this phenomenon and which will provide the decision-making factors with the necessary elements for the elaboration of a strategy in the domain. Currently there is no appropriate unitary system for collecting information. n) Urgently finalizing a national reporting system - The National Unique Register for Investigation and Research in the Drug Trafficking System. This register will include operations already fulfilled and operations in an incipient stage that are to be carried out by the Romanian Police, by the Border Police, by the Customs authorities, and also operations in the medical field - acute intoxications registered in county hospitals, data from the regional medical centers dealing with the co-ordination of drug abuse treatment, aftercare-treatment, rehabilitation and counseling programs. The quality of the data provided by the structures involved in the reduction of drug supply and demand will improve by providing appropriate technical and informational systems complying with international standards. o) Creating a database on operations involving precursors production, commercialization, storage, import and export. p) The improve of the central unit staff and of the compartments involved in the fight against drugs and carrying out informational, operational and research activities by continual specialization in gathering information, by acquiring and applying the new methods of drug trafficking prevention, the intervention and seizure techniques, etc. According to the financial situation, the necessary equipment for the physical and chemical analysis of drugs, drug detection (in cargos or vehicles), supervision and chasing the activities will be purchased. q) Establishing the Romanian Monitoring Center for Drug and Drug Addiction within the National Anti-drug Agency, connecting to the activities of the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug abuse (EMCDDA), as well as by entering the European network of national focal points - REITOX. 4. III. - International Cooperation Introduction and State-of-Art It is a fact that criminality and international organized crime in particular, can be considered borderless institutions whose extent and network can rival the most developed structures of the international bodies. Considering this fact, the institutions active in the field of the fight against drug trafficking and drug use are cooperating with the similar regional, European and international institutions, and especially with those from the member or associated states of the EU, as well as with the appropriate international institutions (the INTERPOL, the EUROPOL, the UN Program for Drug Control, the EU Permanent Committees, etc.) In what concerns the decrease of the drug offer, the Police and the Customs Office accomplished an important objective of the international cooperation by means of a permanent data exchange with connecting officers from other states' similar services, as well as by initiating several programs of which we mention here the ones related to the fight against drug trafficking: - The following directions of the PHARE Program: Twining, Fight Against Drugs, UNDCP - PHARE, Precursors Project, Synthetic Drugs Project - long-term objectives, Central-European Initiative - South Eastern Cooperation Initiative - SECI - objective: prevention and fight against the cross-border crime phenomenon, especially the organized crime. - EMCDDA Cooperation Project - supporting the candidate states seeking to join the EU by applying the Acquis Communautaire. The positive results Romania obtained in the fight against the organised crime are partially due to the multilateral and operative cooperation with other states, and to the experience acquired by cooperating with the international institutions in this field. This proves that we were right when being open and willing to continue and intensify this cooperation. We are hoping that in the near future, Romania will be a part of the great family of the European democracies and considering the Summit in Prague this autumn we will reinforce our efforts in order to comply with the EU integration standards. General and Specific Objectives A. General Objectives The international character of the drug issue entails an increase both of the national and international cooperation, the international cooperation and collaboration being crucial to a successful approach of this issue.38 Romania will promote the international cooperation in the fight against the drug phenomenon by means of integration in the western structures and by playing an active role in the international dialog related to drugs, considering the following principles: - The common responsibility of all the states involved in the fight against this plague; - A multilateral, integrated, balanced and active approach, at conceptual level and at the level of institutions directly and indirectly involved in the prevention and fight against drug use as well as other illegal activities related to it; - Complying with the international legislation, especially when respecting other states' sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as fundamental human rights and liberties. 1. The harmonization of the domestic legislation according to the European legislation 2. Establish and strengthen the work relations in the framework of the international networks that develop programs for combating and prevent drug use and addiction 3. Strengthen the co-operation with the European agencies involved in preventing activities, especially with the European Monitoring Center for Drug and Drug Addiction. B. Specific Objectives The existing specific objectives are categorized in five directions: coordination, EU relations, relation with other international bodies, bilateral relations and evaluation. I. Coordination The co-ordination of international relations in respect of drug issues is accomplished by the National Anti-drug Agency through its specific structure. This Unit will gather the necessary information from the national and international bodies directly and indirectly involved in the fight against drugs. This information will be used to accomplish the international cooperation functions. This Unit will ensure the data flow between the institutions involved at a national level, and on request at an international level. - Intensifying the international cooperation in matter of penal assistance, in view of integration into the EUROJUST system, including through the liaison magistrates. II. The relations with EU organisms: EMCDDA and Europol Acquis communautaire Given the irreversible process of joining the European Union, Romania will adopt and implement the acquis communautaire and the best practices in the field. Accordingly, Romania will act in respect with the objectives established by the European Drug Strategy 2000 - 2004 and it will carry out the activities provided in the EU drug related Action Plan 2000 - 2004. Romania will participate in the EU programs in the framework of strengthening the Community's policies on drugs. The EMCDDA (European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction) Romania will take steps regarding the signing of an agreement for the rapid adheretion at the EMCDDA structure and will continue to cooperate with this institution and submit the Annual Report regarding the Romania Situation on Drugs. The Europol An international agreement of co-operation stipulating provisions regarding the information exchange and common actions to be taken in the fight against drugs will be signed between Romania and the Europol.39 III. The relations with other international bodies The United Nations Organization Romania will play an active role in the efforts made by the UNO and by the UN Drug Control Program (UNDCP), especially in those meant to develop the international cooperation based on the principles stated during the June 1998 UN General Assembly Special Session. Romania will also be involved in several programs initiated by the UN in this field and will follow the recommendations of the International Narcotics Control Body (INCB). Romania takes part in the works and programs of other agencies and initiatives in this field (the World Health Organization, the World Customs Organization, OIPC Interpol, the Stability Pact). The SECI Center Romania will continue to promote the activity of fight against illegal drug use and trafficking within the Regional Center dealing with the prevention and fight against cross-border criminality in South-Eastern European Countries. The European Council - The Pompidou Group Romania wishes to become a full member of this Group and remains open to all the Group's initiatives and programs for technical cooperation. IV. Bilateral relations Romania's bilateral relations with its neighbor countries will be strengthened by means of drug-related bilateral cooperation agreements, information and experience exchange. The process of signing bilateral agreements with the member countries of the EU and the NATO will continue. Romania will seek to sign bilateral agreements with the countries considered to have a high risk in drug related issues. Romania will try to sign mutual contracts with the countries directly or indirectly involved in drug related issues, taking into account their evolution. V. Evaluation In December 2004 a report will be issued to evaluate the Strategy regarding the international cooperation's accomplishments and results, in order to adopt decisions and regulations that will help develop the coming strategies. "); page[16]=new Array("strategy_5.htm","INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK ","","I. The Institutional Framework A. Inter-ministerial Institutions and structures involved in anti-drug activities: the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defend, the Ministry of Public Finance, the Ministry of Health and Family, the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Government's Secretary General, the General Directorate of Customs which is empowered with drugs issues, the General Directorate for Medical Assistance and the Directorate for Health Promoting and Communitarian Health from the Ministry of Health and Family and also the National Coordinator of PHARE Program for fight against drugs. The Inter-ministerial Commission for Preventing illicit drug use, set up by the Common Order of the minister of Interior, minister of Health and Family, minister of Public Administration, minister of Education and Research, minister of Youth and Sports no. 128/602/4425/36219/2629/2001 regarding the organizing the illicit drug use prevention and made up from the representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health and Family, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Youth and Sport and the Ministry of Public Administration. This commission coordinates the prevention activity at the national level. At the level of all Romanian counties and in Bucharest there have being established Centers for anti-drug prevention and counseling, made up from the representatives of the County Police Inspectorates, the School Inspectorates, the Public Health Departments, the Youth and Sport Departments, the Department for Child Protection and from NGOs. These Centers are under the administrative coordination of the Prefect, following that, after the enforcing of the Govern Decision no. 1489/2002 regarding the organizing and running the National Anti-drug Agency, their activity to be reassessed according to the provisions stipulated in the above-mentioned act. B. Drug Supply Reduction Set up in March 2001, the General Directorate for Countering the Organized Crime and Anti-drug is the General Police Inspectorate's specialized central unit that supervises, coordinates, counsels and controls the local structures' activity in the fight against illicit drug trafficking and use. It is divided into 15 local centers organized on the competences of the Appeal Courts. These centers consist of specialized anti-drug Offices directly subordinated to the Anti-drug Squad. The Anti-drug Squad along with the local specialized bodies prevent and fight against criminality, their main fields and interests being as follows: - prevent and detect the international drug trafficking transiting Romania; - prevent and detect the internal drug trafficking; - identify and punish the illegal drug users; - identify the clandestine laboratories and the illegal crops of drug containing plants; - prevent and detect the trafficking of precursors and other essential chemical substances which can be used for manufacturing illegal drugs; - investigate the criminal offences related to the money laundering proceed from drug trafficking operations; - analyze and use all the information and data obtained; - consider the evolution and tendencies of the crime phenomenon related to drug trafficking and illegal drug use; - international exchange of information related to drug trafficking; - getting evidence in order to complete de penal pursuit record for the offenders. The Romanian Border Police is part of the Ministry of Interior and the specialized state institution dealing with the state border crossing control, the prevention and fight against illegal migration and other specific cross-border criminal acts. Also, it enforces the compliance with the state border, passports and foreigners legal regulations; it protects the Romanian interests on the lower Danube and on the Sulina channel which are situated outside the border area as well as in the contiguous area and in the exclusive economic area; it enforces the public order in its area of competence, according to the law. The Romanian Border Police is organized at the level of the counties that, according to the administrative territorial organization also include the Black Sea's seaside as their state border limit. As for the counties inside the country, the Romanian Border Police is organized at the level of the state border points where airports or ports are opened to the international traffic of persons and goods. In the case of the lower Danube, opened to the international navigation, the Romanian Border Police is also organized at the level of Braila and Ialomita counties. The activity of the Romanian Border Police is a public service and is carried out in the interest of individuals and community, supporting the other state institutions, according to the law; it has the obligation to prevent and fight against the hazardous circumstances triggered by illegal migration and cross-border criminality involving Romania. In order to accomplish its tasks, the Romanian Border Police cooperates with other state institutions in this field and with the citizens, in conformity with the law. The General Customs Administration is organized and runs as a legal authority and specialized body of the Central Public Administration and it is subordinated to the Ministry of Public Finances; it applies the Government's strategy and programs related to the customs policy and applies the duties stated by the customs regulations. The structures of the General Customs Administration include 10 Local Inter-county Customs Departments that coordinate the activity of the Border Customs Offices and Customs offices inside of the country through the Service of Customs Surveillance and Fight against Customs Fraud. Each Customs office includes an Anti-drug department which include as stipulated in General Director of Customs' Order, customs experts who have specific and exclusive competences in anti-drug control. In order to achieve its object of activity, the General Customs Administration has the following main assignments: - organizing, guiding and controlling the activity of following institutions: the Local County Customs Offices, the Customs Control Offices at the border and within the country; - supervising and enforcing the compliance with the customs legislation throughout the country; - seeking to prevent and fight against any customs related offences or criminal offences, in conformity with the law; - implementing the customs related measures stipulated by the free trade and free exchange Agreements, concluded between Romania and the EU or other countries seeking to integrate in the EU; - coordinating the programs concerning the European customs integration; - coordinating and counseling the Local Inter-county Customs Departments and the Customs Control Offices in order to prevent and fight against the trafficking of drugs, fire weapons, explosive materials and objects belonging to the National Cultural Patrimony; investigates the customs related money laundering cases in cooperation with other state bodies involved; cooperation agreements on the exchange of information regarding the prevention and fight against the customs fraud will be concluded by mandate with the foreign customs authorities; - collaborating, on a protocol basis with the General Police Inspectorate, the General Border Police Inspectorate, the General Passport Department and with the Revenue Service. - collaborate and exchange information with other customs administrations on a Protocol basis. - preventing and fighting against the illicit drugs trafficking phenomenon, essential chemical substances and precursor and other goods with a special regime through the Service of Countering Drugs and Special Regime Products Trafficking within the Directorate of Surveillance and Fight against Customs Fraud and through the local anti-drug departments. - organize and assure the well development of the specific activities of anti-drug control with the dogs that detect drugs and psychotropic substances. - manages its own database and analyzes the trends of drugs illicit trafficking in order to establish new ways of countering it through the Service of Countering Drugs and Special Regime Products Trafficking. - controlling transportation vehicles and goods for importation and exportation, checking operatively the buildings, warehouses, lands, headquarters or any other places that might have goods for customs or with a special regime, as well as their origins and it can take, as stipulated by law, samples that will be analyzed in Customs laboratory or in those laboratories agreed by the General Customs Administration. - organizing, executing and establishing a password system on transportation vehicles, goods, suspect companies to be involved in drugs illicit trafficking. - collaborates and co-operates, at national and international level, with specialized institutions in the field. C. - Drug Demand Reduction The Ministry of Health and Family The General Department for Public Health consists of 42 health promoting services and other services within the local as well as Bucharest Public Health Departments; it coordinates the drug use prevention programs, monitors and evaluates the activities related to drug supply decrease, including those referring to treatment. The General Department for Medical Assistance and Programs coordinates and offers methodological support to the psychiatric hospitals, including those treating the drug addicts as well as the emergency services within the hospitals treating the drug intoxication cases. The Institute of Health Management Services offers technical support to the Ministry of Health and to other institutions involved in the health reform, including the drug demand decrease. The Ministry of Youth and Sport The Ministry of Youth and Sports finances its own activities that have been approved by the minister of youth and sports: it also support financially the youth associations that correspond to the objectives included in the management program of the minister. The County Departments for Youth and Sports are public services with juridical status, set up according to the relevant law and organize actions for youth and they provide methodological assistance and financial support to the youth associations. The Ministry of Education and Research The General Department for Extra Scholar Activities develops educational programs related to drug use prevention. The Ministry of Justice The National Forensic Institute analyzes entirely or partially the phenomenon of criminality and provides to the judiciary authorities as well as to other specific organization studies and reports in order to proceed against the causes that had generated the respective phenomenon. II. The Legal Framework 1. International Conventions and co-operation agreements 1. The Convention and Protocol on Opium, concluded in Geneva, on 19th February 1925, on the occasion of the Second Conference on Opium, promulgated in Romania by the Decree no 1578/ 5th July 1928; 2. The Convention for the fight against illegal drug trafficking, signed in Geneva on 26th June 1936 and ratified by Romania in the Law by Decree no 169/ 27th May 1938;46 3. The Convention on narcotics, concluded in New York on 30th March 1961, amended by the Geneva Protocol, 25th March 1972, promulgated in Romania by the Decree no 626/1973, issued in the Official Gazette, Part I, no 213/1973; 4. The UN Convention related to psychotropic substances, concluded in Vienna, in February 1971; Romania joined it the Law no 118/1992; 5. The UN Convention against Psychotropic Substances and Narcotics Trafficking (Vienna, December 20, 1988), Romania joined it the Law no 118/1992; 6. The Agreement between Romania and SECI for countering the transfrontalier crime, concluded in Bucharest, at October 2, 2000, ratified by the Law no 48/2001; 7. The European Convention on penal procedures transfer, adopted in Strasbourg, at May 15, 1972, ratified by Government Decision no 77/1999, approved through the Law no 34/2000; 8. The European Convention regarding laundering, discovering, seizuring the products of crime, concluded in Strasbourg, at November 8, 1990, ratified through the Law no 263/2002; 9. The European Convention on judicial assistance in penal issues, adopted in Strasbourg, at April 20, 1959 and the additional Protocol at the European Convention on judicial assistance in penal issues, adopted in Strasbourg, at March 17, 1978, ratified through the Law no 236/1998; 10. Law no 147/ 24.07.1997 concerning the ratification of the Agreement between the Romanian Government and the French Government regarding the cooperation on internal affairs issues, signed in Bucharest, on 21st February 1997; 11. Law no 142/ 24.07.1997 concerning the ratification of the Memorandum of Agreement between the Romanian Government and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland Government regarding the collaboration in the fight against the organized crime and the illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking, signed in Bucharest, on 14th November 1995; 12. Law no 101/1999 regarding the ratification of the Agreement between the Romanian Government and the Peruvian Government regarding the prevention, control, investigation and fight against drug use and illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking as well as other related crimes, signed in Bucharest, on 9th September 1998; 13. Law no 106/ 16.06.1999 concerning the ratification of Treaty related to the mutual legal support on penal issues between Romania and Canada, signed in Ottawa, on 25th May 1998; 14. Law no 154/11.10.1999 regarding the ratification of the Cooperation Agreement between Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey concerning the fight against terrorism, organized crime, illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking, money laundering, guns and human trafficking and other severe criminal offences, signed in Antalya, on 16th April 1998; 15. Law no 208/ 31.12.1999 regarding the ratification of the Cooperation Agreement concerning the prevention and fight against the cross-border criminality, signed in Bucharest, on 26th May 1999; 16. The Agreement between Romania and U.S.A. on judicial assistance in penal issues, concluded in Washington at May 26, 1999, ratified by Government Decision no 93/1999, approved by Law no 53/2000; 17. Law no 6/ 6.03.2000 regarding the ratification of the Cooperation Agreement between the participant states at the Black Sea Economic Cooperation for the fight against criminality, especially the organized crime, signed in Kerkyra, on 2nd October 1998; 18. Law no 13/ 6.03.2000 regarding the ratification of the Agreement between Romania and Cyprus concerning the cooperation in the fight against international criminality, signed in Bucharest, on 7th June 1995; 19. Law no 50/ 14.03.2001 regarding the ratification of the Convention between Romania and Belgium concerning the police cooperation, signed in Bucharest, on 14th April 1999; 20. Law no 64/ 2001 regarding the ratification of the Agreement between Romania and Brazil concerning the cooperation in the fight against illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking and manufacturing, their inappropriate use and addiction, signed in Bucharest, on 22nd October 1999; 21. Law no 67/ 16.03. 2001 regarding the ratification of the Agreement between Romania and Jordan concerning the cooperation in the fight against the organised crime, illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking, terrorism as well as other illegal activities, signed in Bucharest, on 17th September 1999; 22. Law no 70/ 16.03.2001 regarding the ratification of the Agreement between Romania, Moldavia and Ukraine concerning the cooperation in the fight against criminality, signed in Kiev, on 6th July 1999; 23. Law no 664/ 2001 regarding the approval of the Government Ordinance no 4/ 2001 concerning the ratification of the Letter of Agreement between Romania and the United States of America regarding the drugs control and law enforcement, signed in Bucharest, on 3rd July 2001; 24. Law no 27/ 16.01.2002 regarding the ratification of the Penal Convention on corruption, adopted in Strasbourg, on 27th January 1999; 25. Law no 123/ 18.03.2002 regarding the ratification of the Agreement between Romania and Israel concerning the cooperation in the fight against illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking and use as well as other severe criminal offences, signed in Jerusalem, on 17th July 2001; 26. Law no 320/ 27.03.2002 regarding the ratification of the Agreement between Romania and Armenia concerning the cooperation in the fight against criminality, especially the organized crime, signed in Erevan, on 31st October 2001; 27. Law no 188/ 16.04.2002 regarding the ratification of the Agreement between Romania and Poland concerning the cooperation in the fight against the organized crime, terrorism and other forms of criminal offences, signed in Warsaw, on 11th July 2001; 28. Law no 394/ 14.06.2002 regarding the ratification of the Agreement related to the trafficking by sea, adopted in Strasbourg, 31st January 1995 in order to enforce Article 17 of the UN Convention against illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking, signed in Vienna, on 20th December 1988; 29. Law no 465/ 9.07. 2002 regarding the ratification of the Agreement between Romania and the Czech Republic concerning the cooperation in the fight against the organized crime, illegal drugs, precursors and psychotropic substances trafficking, terrorism and other severe criminal offences, signed in Prague, on 13th November 2001. 30. The Convention between Romania and the Egipt Republic regarding the judicial assistance in penal issues, the transfer of convicts and extradition, concluded in Cairo, June 28, 2001, ratified by Law no 438/2002; 31. The Agreement of Co-operation between the Ministry of Interior of Romania and the Ministry of Interior of Italiy Republic in fight against the illegal psychotropic substances trafficking and against organized crime, approved by Government Decision no 258/1993; 32. The Agreement between the Romanian Government and the Government of the India Republic, regarding the co-operation in countering the organized crime, the international terrorism, the illegal psychotropic substances trafficking and other illegal activities, approved by Government Decision no 550/1994; 33. The Convention of Co-operation between the Romanian Government and the Government of the Argentinian Republic for fight against the illegal psychotropic substances trafficking and conexe crimes, approved by Government Decision no 568/1994; 34. The Agreement of Co-operation between the Romanian Government and the Government of the Uruguay Republic for countering organized crime and the illegal psychotropic substances trafficking, approved by Government Decision no 134/1995; 35. The Agreement of Co-operation between the Romanian Government and the Government of the German Federal Republic for countering the organized crime, terrorism and other penal issues with severe gravity, concluded in Bucharest, at October 15, 1996, and the Protocol of this Agreement, approved by Government Decision no 80/1997; 36. PROTOCOL, 9th December 1999 regarding the cooperation between the Romanian Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Interior and Sport of the Land Renania - Palatinat. 37. The Agreement of Co-operation between the Ministry of Interior of Romania and the Ministry of Interior of Belarus Republic for countering the crime, concluded in Bucharest, at May 22, 1996, approved by Government Decision no 270/1997; 38. The Agreement of Co-operation in counteriog the organized crime, terrorism and illegal drug trafficking, between the Romanian Government and the Hungarian Government, concluded in Budapest, February 19, 1997, approved by Government Decision no 271/1997; 39. The Agreement of Co-operation between the Romanian Government and the Government of the Morocco for fight against drug traffickin, clandestine imigrations and for countering the organized crime, concluded in Rabat, August 26, 1997, approved by Government Decision no 813/1997; 40. The Protocol of trilateral enlarged co-operation for countering the crime, especially the transfrontalier crime, concluded in Sofia, September 8, 1998, approved by Government Decision no 280/1999; 41. The Agreement of Co-operation between the Romanian Government and the Federal Government of Austria for countering the international organized crime, the international illegal drug trafficking, international terrorism and for other penal issues, concluded in Bucharest, March 18, 1999, approved by Government Decision no 917/1999; 42. The Agreement of Co-operation between the Romanian Government and the Government of the Mexican States for fight against the illegal psychotropic substances trafficking and conexe crimes, concluded in Bucharest, at April 19, 1999, approved by Government Decision no 970/2000; 43. The Agreement of Co-operation between the Romanian Government and the Government of Slovenia Republic for countering the organized crime, the illegal drug, psychotropic substances and precursors trafficking and other severe crimes, concluded in Bucharest, at October 4, 2000, approved by Government Decision no 597/2001; 44. The Protocol of co-operation between the Ministry of Interior of Romania anf the Ministry of Interior of Belgium , concluded in Bucharest, at June 25, 2001, approved by Government Decision no 1.035/2001; 45. The Agreement of Co-operation between the Romanian Government and the Government of the Armenia Republic regarding reciproc assistance in Customs services, concluded in Erevan, at October 31, 2001, approved by Government Decision no 274/2002; 46. The Agreement between the Romanian Government, INTERPOL and SECI regarding the communication networks for information exchange, concluded in Bucharest, at February 25, 2002, approved by Government Decision no 499/2002. A. Normative Acts Laws: The Romanian Penal Code, containing the regulations that incriminate the drug related criminal offences (Articles 118, 312, 313, 314). The Customs Code incriminates as trafficking (Art. 176) and sanctions the unauthorized border crossing of narcotics, psychotropic substances, precursors and basic chemical substances. The Customs Regulations no. 141 (1992), modified in 1997. Law no 143/2000 related to the fight against drug use and illegal drug trafficking; Law no 73/1969 related to narcotic substances and products, and the Instructions no 103/1073 issued by the Ministry of Health related to the enforcement of the Law no 73/1969; Law no 31/1996 regarding the state monopole; Law no 100/1998 regarding the public health system; Law no 21/1999 regarding the prevention and sanction of the capital laundering; Law no 148/ 2000 regarding the advertising; Law no 225/ 2000 regarding the modification of the Article 2, paragraph 2 within the Government Emergency Ordinance no 55/1999 regarding the banning of the tobacco related commercials in theatre halls and the selling of tobacco products to the under aged. Law no 125/ 2001 that modifies and completes the Article 1 within the Government Emergency Ordinance no 55/1999 regarding the banning of the tobacco related commercials in theatre halls and the selling of tobacco products to the under aged. Law no 55/ 2001 regarding the approval of the Government Ordinance no 109/1999 that modifies and completes the Government Ordinance no 22/1992 concerning the health protection financing; Law no 169/ 2002 that modifies and completes the Penal Code, the Penal Procedure Code and other special laws; Law no 300/2002 regarding the regime of precursors4 Emergency Ordinances: Ordinances: Emergency Ordinance no 55/ 29.04. 1999 *** republished, regarding the banning of the tobacco related commercials in theatre halls and the selling of tobacco products to the under aged. Emergency Ordinance no 152/ 1999 regarding the medicines for human use, containing the special provisions related to the import, export and transport of toxic substances, narcotics and medicines within the country's boundaries. Emergency Ordinance no 175/ 1999 regarding the inauguration of the Agency for Organization of the Regional Centre for Prevention and Countering the Transfrontalier Crime (SECI), approved by the Law no 94/2000; Emergency Ordinance no 201/ 2000 regarding the of the Agency for Organization of the Regional Centre for Prevention and Countering the Transfrontalier Crime (SECI), approved by the Law no 94/2000; Ordinances Ordinance no 109/ 1999 that modifies and completes the Government Ordinance no 22/1992 concerning the health protection financing; Ordinance no 4/ 2001 regarding the ratification of the Letter of Agreement between the Romanian Government and the United States of America Government concerning the drug control and the enforcement of the law, signed in Bucharest, on 3rd July 2001; Government Decisions: Government Decision no 75/ 1991 regarding the definition and sanction of the drug related criminal offences; Government Decision no 258/ 1993 regarding the approval of the Cooperation Agreement between the Romanian Ministry of Interior and the Italian Ministry of Interior concerning the fight against illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking and against the organized crime. Government Decision no 550/ 1994 regarding the approval of the Agreement between the Romanian Government and the Indian Government concerning the cooperation in the fight against illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking and against the organized crime and international terrorism as well as other illegal activities; Government Decision no 568/ 1994 regarding the approval of the Cooperation Convention between the Romanian Government and the Argentinean Government concerning the fight against illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking and other related criminal offences; Government Decision no 134 / 1995 regarding the approval of the Agreement between the Romania and Uruguay concerning the cooperation in the fight against illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking and against the organized crime; Government Decision no 80/ 15.03.1997 regarding the approval of the Agreement between Romania and Germany concerning the cooperation in the fight against the organized crime, terrorism and other severe criminal offences, signed in Bucharest, on 15th October 1996, including the Agreement's Protocol; Government Decision no 270/ 9.06. 1997 regarding the approval of the Agreement between the Romanian Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Belarus concerning the cooperation in the fight against criminality, signed in Bucharest, on 22nd may 1996; Government Decision no 271/ 9.06. 1997 regarding the approval of the Agreement between Romania and Hungary concerning the cooperation in the fight against the organized crime, terrorism and illegal drug trafficking, signed in Budapest, on 19th February 1997; Government Decision no 813/ 2.12. 1997 regarding the approval of the Agreement between Romania and Morocco concerning the cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, illegal migration and organized crime, signed in Rabat, on 26th August 1997; Government Decision no 280/ 8.04. 1999 regarding the approval of the Trilateral Cooperation Protocol for the fight against criminality, and especially the cross-border criminality, signed in Sofia, on 8th September 1998; Government Decision no 917/ 9.11. 1999 regarding the approval of the Agreement between Romania and Austria concerning the cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, international organized crime and terrorism and other criminal offences, signed in Bucharest, on 18th March 1999; Government Decision no 534/ 1999 regarding the setting up of the Inter-ministerial Committee for the Fight Against Drugs; Government Decision no 1359/ 2000 regarding the enforcement regulations of the Law 143/ 2000 stipulating the new legal procedures for its application. Government Decision no 970/ 2000 regarding the approval of the Agreement between Romania and Mexico concerning the cooperation in the fight against illegal drugs and psychotropic substances trafficking as well as other related criminal offences, signed in Bucharest, on 19th April 1999; Government Decision no 1359/ 2000 regarding the enforcement regulations of the Law 143/ 2000 concerning the drug use and drug trafficking; Government Decision no 597/ 21.06.2001 regarding the approval of the Agreement between Romania and Slovenia concerning the cooperation in the fight against the organized crime, terrorism, illegal drugs, precursors and psychotropic substances trafficking as well as other severe criminal offences, signed in Bucharest, on 4th October 2000; Government Decision no 767/ 2001 regarding to the selling of the inhalants and organic solvents. Government Decision no 1035/ 18.10. 2001 regarding the approval of the Cooperation Protocol between the Romanian Minister of Interior and the Belgian Minister of Interior, signed in Bucharest, on 25th June 2001; Government Decision no 274/ 21.03.2002 regarding the approval of the Agreement between the Romanian Government and the Armenian Government concerning the cooperation and mutual support on customs related matters, signed in Erevan, on 31st October 2001; Government Decision no 499/ 16.05.2002 regarding the approval of the Agreement between the Romanian Government, the INTERPOL and the Local Centre of the SECI for the fight against the cross-border criminality concerning the exchange of information, signed in Bucharest, on 25th February 2002. Minister's Orders: The Minister of Health's Order no 317/ 1987 regarding the modification of Annex 1 of the Instructions no 103/ 1970 for the enforcement of the Law no 73/ 1969 concerning the legal stipulations related to narcotic and other similar products and substances as well as a list of the above-mentioned. The Minister of Health's Order no 92/ 1988 that bans smoking in all medical centers. The Minister of Health's Order no 963/ 1998 regarding the general methodological norms related to the organization of the medical support, treatment and services provided to the drug addicts. The Minister of Industry and Trade's Order no 36C/ 1999 regarding the issue of the import-export licenses for certain chemical substances under international control (22 substances under control according to the Vienna Convention, modified following the recommendations of the 35th Session of the Commission on Narcotics, in conformity with the Regulation no 3677/ 1990); The Minister of Health's Order no 9/ 1999 regarding the appointment of the National Coordinators of the health and education promoting Programs as well as the National Coordinator for the national drug use decrease. The Minister of Health's Order no 332/ 1999 regarding the founding of the Drug-use Research and Resources Centre within the Bucharest Institute for the Medical Services Management. The Minister of Education's Order no 3281/ 1999 regarding the counseling and directions of activity in the educational system from Elementary to High school for the year 1999/ 2000. The Minister of Education's Order no 3449/ 1999 regarding the elective courses in order to apply the new educational programs, starting with the school year 1999/ 2000. The Common Order of the Minister of Health and Minister of Finance no 318/ 519/ 13.05.1999/ 18.05. 1999 regarding the approval of the methodological norms related to the application of the Government Emergency Ordinance no 55/ 1999, regarding the banning of the tobacco related commercials in theatre halls and the selling of tobacco products to the underaged.50 The Common Order of the Minister of Health and the Minister of Agriculture no 17/ 240/ 2000 regarding the approval of the Norms related to content, origin, manufacturing, packaging, labelling, marking and quality of the alcoholic beverages for consumer use. The Minister of Health's Order no 853/ 2000 stipulating the content and size of the written warning texts for all tobacco related forms of advertising. The Common Order of the Minister of Heath and Minister of Finances no 684/ 1416/ 2000 related to the financing of the detoxification treatment, medical observation and forensic examination for the drug addicts. The Common Order of the Minister of Health, the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Public Administration, the Minister of Education, the Minister of Youth and Sport no 28/ 602/ 4425/ 36219/ 2629/ 2001 regarding the drug use prevention. The Order no 187/ 2002 regarding the health care facilities that can be certified to provide medical assistance to drug addicts as well as the NGOs that can be certified to operate as to prevent the transfer of pathogenic micro organisms among the intravenous drug users. The Order no 189/ 2002 that completes Article 62 of the Instructions no 103/ 1970 to apply the Law no 73/ 1969 regarding the narcotic substances and products. The Common Order of the Minister of Health and the President of the National Health Insurance Body no 85/ 65/ 2002 regarding the approval of the health programs and methodological norms concerning the programs' financing by the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance Body's social funds in 2002. "); page[17]=new Array("strategy_6.htm","INFORMATIONAL SYSTEMS ","","Introduction Taking into account the extent and complexity of drugs phenomenon in Romania, as well as the necessity to have a high level control on illicit drugs use and trafficking, a national focal point has been set up recently in Romania. The Romanian National Focal Point was designed as a joint and independent organism (made up initially from two representatives of the Ministry of Health and Family and two representatives of the Ministry of Interior-officers within the General Directorate for Countering Organized Crime and Anti-drug). This institution has been subsequently named the Romanian Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (RMCDDA) and it running as a Romanian technical liaison structure with the European Union, being in charge with the monitoring the Romania situation on drugs and with the exchange of information between source-institutions and the European Centre for Drugs and Drug Addicts Until 2001, the task of Focal Point was provisionally assured by the Department for Information Analyzes within the General Directorate for Countering the Organized Crime and Anti-drug. The 1998 and 1999 national reports were produced by this department, but as drug phenomenon in Romania increased, the necessity of a specialized structure for analyzing dates has appeared. During year 2001, benefiting from the twinning Project Fight against Drugs it was decided that the future RMCDDA to be located within the Institute for Health Management Services (IMSS), a subordinated structure of the Ministry of Health and Family. The effective activity of the RMCDDA started in April 2002, after the allocation of space and logistics for the specific activities. As already specified, the RMCDDA is the monitoring center that will centralize all information get from the institutions that have data in the field. The data will be properly analyzed and shared into two main components of politics in the field of drugs: • Drug Demand Reduction: - Infectious diseases associated to drug use key indicator - Drug Related Death key indicator - Drug Related Treatment Demand key indicator - Prevalence of drug use key indicator - General Population Surveys key indicator • Drug Supply Reduction: - Availability and market supply - Price of drugs on illicit market - Purity of drugs trafficked on the illicit market - Social problems associated to the drug use and trafficking - Offences associated to the drug use. The results of the analysis will be submitted to the policymakers at the level of the ministries involved. The RMCDDA staff attended the training courses in Romania and abroad, organized by the EMCDDA and the Twinning Project signed between Romania, Spain and United Kingdom. The support received during these courses was decisive for the establishment of an action plan of the RMCDDA that comply with the EMCDDA respective standards. General and Specific Objectives General objectives To facilitate a global, reliable on and permanently updated vision on the problems related to drug use (including tobacco, alcohol and other psychoactive substances that cause addiction) in Romania, that would allow the improvement of the decision-making process and would have an important contribution to the preparation and evaluation of response policies in the case of drug use. Specific objectives: - Identifying and defining the data and the data sources - Setting up an informational network regarding the drug field - Acknowledging drug use prevalence tendencies and characteristics -Identifying and measuring the trends of drug-related problems - the sanitary, judiciary, social aspects. - Measuring the tendency of psychoactive substances supply - Acknowledging the appropriate responses regarding illegal drug use and trafficking (legislation, programs, projects) - Analyzing data offered by indicators, inquiries etc and issuing a national annual report - Transmitting information to decision-making factors both at national and European level and to other interested institutions - Promoting specific research for each indicator and training staff in order to improve the data and information collecting methodology - Providing data for elaborating a study - Studying the population's attitude and opinion in concerning with drug use and users, and the programs related to this phenomenon - Establishing a documentary center (written bibliographical material - hard copies and electronic format). The informational network One of the main objectives of the twinning project is the development of the RMCDDA structure. RMCDDA is going to be an informational database containing data related to illegal drug use and trafficking, as well as analyses and statistics on this topic. For this purpose, the identification of the information sources is a priority in the process of constituting the network. Following the activities carried out by the project, the Spanish and Romanian experts have analyzed and identified several data sources, as well as various procedures of data collecting and coding. The network monitors the data and data sources situation for the five key indicators required by the EMCDDA. 1. Population surveys It is an estimation of the drug use percentage as reported to the total of the population (past or present), being considered a key indicator in evaluating the situation at a certain moment, and for the development and evolution of the policies in this domain. It is important to know which are the groups where drug users are concentrated, as well as their models/tendencies. Sources: National Statistics Institute The Institute for Health Services Management NGOs 2. Prevalence and models of problematic drugs It refers to the users groups supervision. Problematic drugs can mean drugs such as opium, cannabis and/or amphetamine. This definition excludes Ecstasy and cannabis users, as well as the people who don't use opium, cocaine and amphetamine on a regular basis. Sources: Institute for Medical Statistics NGOs 3. Drug Related Infectious Diseases Prevalence and incidence of HIV/HVB/HVC Sources: Ministry of Health and Family Institute for Medical Statistics NGOs 4. Drug Related Deaths The mortality registers for the general population and the specialized statistics registrars, as well as various studies on drug users. The number of deaths directly caused by drug use (overdoses) is often used for a simple general estimation of the situation in a certain country. Also, it is important to know the number of deaths among the young population, which is the main group affected by this problem. Sources: Mina Minovici Forensic Institute Institute for Medical Statistics 5. Drug Treatment Demand It refers to the statistic data provided by the treatment centers or other units providing specialized medical assistance. Sources: Any treatment institutions that reports and sends data to the Ministry of Health and Family Institute for Medical statistics Developing a network for collecting data that follows these key indicators, the RMCDDA strategy will follow two main directions: • Demand Reduction (Indicators 3, 4, and 5) • Supply Reduction; in this way, a series of core indicators (drug price on the market, number of arrests, drug captures) will be developed, in closely co-operation with GDCOCA and the specialized departments of the Ministry of Justice "); page[18]=new Array("strategy_7.htm","FINANCING","","The initiation,, development and application of the National Anti-Drug Strategy involves the Romanian Government responsibility in providing the financial mechanisms that would guarantee the continuation of the programs which are currently implemented, and the achievement of the objectives proposed in this document. Financial resources: 1. Funds from the State Budget 2. Funds from the Budget of the ministries involved 3. Extra-budgetary funds specially allotted 4. Internal and international funding "); page[19]=new Array("strategy_8.htm","EVALUATION","","The National Anti-Drug Strategy has to be based on a periodically assessment on the character and extent of the drug use phenomenon and of its consequences, and also on data acquired by research, and from experience resulted from previous programs. Periodically, after the enforcing of the Anti-Drug National Agency, this will do the assessment according to the Government Decision no. 1489/2002. "); page[20]=new Array("rmcdda.htm","THE ROMANIAN MONITORING CENTRE FOR DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION (RMCDDA) ","","1. CONCEPT/ VISION/ SCOPE The Romanian Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (RMCDDA) it is running as a Romanian technical liaison structure with the European Union, being in charge with the monitoring the Romania situation on drugs and with the exchange of information between source-institutions and the European Centre for Drugs and Drug Addicts. As already specified, the RMCDDA is the monitoring centre that will centralize all information get from the institutions that have data in the field. The data will be properly analyzed and shared into two main components of politics in the field of drugs: • Drug Demand Reduction: - Infectious diseases associated to drug use key indicator - Drug Related Death key indicator - Drug Related Treatment Demand key indicator - Prevalence of drug use key indicator - General Population Surveys key indicator • Drug Supply Reduction: - Availability and market supply - Price of drugs on illicit market - Purity of drugs trafficked on the illicit market - Social problems associated to the drug use and trafficking - Offences associated to the drug use. The results of the analysis will be submitted to the policymakers at the level of the ministries involved. 2. GENERAL OBJECTIVES To facilitate a global, reliable on and permanently updated vision on the problems related to drug use (including tobacco, alcohol and other psychoactive substances that cause addiction) in Romania, that would allow the improvement of the decision-making process and would have an important contribution to the preparation and evaluation of response policies in the case of drug use. 3. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES - Identifying and defining the data and the data sources - Setting up an informational network regarding the drug field - Acknowledging drug use prevalence tendencies and characteristics -Identifying and measuring the trends of drug-related problems - the sanitary, judiciary, social aspects. - Measuring the tendency of psychoactive substances supply - Acknowledging the appropriate responses regarding illegal drug use and trafficking (legislation, programs, projects) - Analyzing data offered by indicators, inquiries etc and issuing a national annual report - Transmitting information to decision-making factors both at national and European level and to other interested institutions - Promoting specific research for each indicator and training staff in order to improve the data and information collecting methodology - Providing data for elaborating a study - Studying the population's attitude and opinion in concerning with drug use and users, and the programs related to this phenomenon - Establishing a documentary center (written bibliographical material - hard copies and electronic format). 4. INDICATORS 1. POPULATION SURVEYS It is an estimation of the drug use percentage as reported to the total of the population (past or present), being considered a key indicator in evaluating the situation at a certain moment, and for the development and evolution of the policies in this domain. It is important to know which are the groups where drug users are concentrated, as well as their models/tendencies. Sources: National Statistics Institute The Institute for Health Services Management NGOs 2. PREVALENCE AND MODELS OF PROBLEMATIC DRUGS It refers to the users groups supervision. Problematic drugs can mean drugs such as opium, cannabis and/or amphetamine. This definition excludes Ecstasy and cannabis users, as well as the people who don't use opium, cocaine and amphetamine on a regular basis. Sources: Institute for Medical Statistics NGOs 3. DRUG RELATED INFECTIOUS DISEASES Prevalence and incidence of HIV/HVB/HVC Sources: Ministry of Health and Family Institute for Medical Statistics NGOs 4. DRUG RELATED DEATHS The mortality registers for the general population and the specialized statistics registrars, as well as various studies on drug users. The number of deaths directly caused by drug use (overdoses) is often used for a simple general estimation of the situation in a certain country. Also, it is important to know the number of deaths among the young population, which is the main group affected by this problem. Sources: Mina Minovici Forensic Institute Institute for Medical Statistics 5. DRUG TREATMENT DEMAND It refers to the statistic data provided by the treatment centers or other units providing specialized medical assistance. Sources: Any treatment institutions that reports and sends data to the Ministry of Health and Family Institute for Medical statistics 5. MAIN DIRECTIONS Developing a network for collecting data that follows these key indicators, the RMCDDA strategy will follow two main directions: • Demand Reduction (Indicators 3, 4, and 5) • Supply Reduction; in this way, a series of core indicators (drug price on the market, number of arrests, drug captures) will be developed, in closely co-operation with GDCOCA and the specialized departments of the Ministry of Justice. "); page[21]=new Array("evaluation.htm","EVALUATION - COORDINATION","","1. CONCEPT/ VISION/ SCOPE Drugs use is one of the serious social problems that Romanian society faces with. In the case of many persons, especially young ones, this leads to addiction, becomes a source of suffering, diseases, poverty, social isolation, unemployment etc. This affects not only the social behaviour of the addicted persons, but also the life of the families or communities to which they belong. Drug use induces a continuous amplification of the request on the drug market and it amplifies a proportionally direct increase of the supply of these substances. In front of this scourge with multiple social implications, some preventing actions based on a strategy of reducing the drugs supply are necessary. 2. GENERAL OBJECTIVES Diminishing the drug supply by 30% in the next two years; Diminishing the drug supply through permanent control of the drug supply; Controlling the illegal production and trafficking by means of co-operation between the state authorities having responsibilities in this field, as well as by means of co-operation at the international level; Legal and institutional compliance with Romania's commitment to the process of EU integration; Participating to international programs in the field; Diagnosing and monitoring the drug offer. 3. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES Reducing risk factors; Counter-balancing international drug trafficking by criminal organizations specialized in drug production, transport and selling, and with structures in two or more countries; Intensifying the control activities at the border crossing points; Preventing and fighting drug distribution by final consumers - micro traffic; Strengthening institutional co-operation at the national and international levels; Diminishing the number of drug-related crimes; Significantly reducing money-laundering techniques; Diminishing drug accessibility and availability; Involving civil society in the fight against drugs; Developing and improving the co-ordination structures at the national and international levels; Training of the specialists in the field; Changing of the public opinion and forming an attitude that would lead to the operational notification of authorities by citizens, regarding persons involved in drug trafficking; Permanent evaluation of the carried out activities; Providing appropriate financial resources for the application of the drug supply reduction strategy. Developing and diversifying the co-operation between the Ministry of Justice and other national and international institutions which have as an objective the fight against drugs trafficking. 4. THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK WITH INCIDENCE IN THIS DOMAIN We might say that Romanian authorities in charge with fighting against drug supply benefit from a modern, coherent and effective legislative system which allows them to approach the drug use and drug trafficking in a systemic, multi-disciplinary, and inter-departmental manner, which is synchronized with international legislation. On the other hand, most of the incident legislation valid in Romania is already harmonized with the EC regulations regarding the fight against drug production, traffic and use; the EC effectively participates in the harmonization process, which is in its final stage, by sending prestigious specialists to assist in the elaboration process of projects for specific laws. 5. INTERNAL AND INTERNATIONAL RISK FACTORS: The geographical positioning of Romania at the intersection of the main routes used by drug traffickers; The continuous increase of the number of drug users and - implicitly - the development of the distribution networks; Romanian citizens' involvement in drug trafficking activities as couriers, storage agents, intermediaries or distributors; The increase of criminality in domains strictly related with illegal drug trafficking and use, including money laundering activities influencing the financial and banking spheres; The increase of trans-border criminality, by the direct involvement in illegal actions on the Romanian territory of criminal organizations acting in several countries; Diversifying the means of committing crimes, especially the use and purchase of fire weapons by hiring professional criminals; The existence of possibilities to produce natural and synthetic drugs in our country, as well as the illegal cultivation of plants from which drugs can be extracted; The implication in corruption activities of public clerks having direct responsibilities in the control activity; The opening in Romania of phantom-companies by citizens of some drug producing or destination countries, which cover illegal drug trafficking activities; The intensification of the migration phenomenon of citizens from African and Asian countries, which are well-known as drug-producing countries; The danger posed by the terrorist networks involved in the drug trafficking, in order to obtain funds from these illegal activities. "); page[22]=new Array("prevention.htm","PREVENTION - ASSISTANCE - COUNSELING ","","1. CONCEPT/ SCOPE/ VISION Till the end of 2004, Romania will put into practice an integrated system of prevention and treatment services, structured in a national network of centres having capacity to implement coherent strategies at local level. Cutting-down the drug demand Developing the national ability for education-informing-prevention-treatment and with programs targeted on illegal drug traffic. 2. GENERAL OBJECTIVES Reducing drug use and addiction among the general population. Diminishing the number of children and youths that start to use drugs. Diminishing drug use and addiction among persons who are in risky situation. Reducing the risks resulting from drug use and addiction. Diagnosing, analyzing and monitoring drug use. Legislative and institutional harmonization with EU regulations. 3. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES Reducing risk factors. Diversifying the means of preventing drug use. Promoting education for health among the population. Diminishing the accessibility of drug availability. Informing the population about the risks and the damages associated to drug use. Involving civil society. Developing co-ordination structures at the local and national level (National Anti-drug Agency). Improving the quality of prevention programs. Providing specific training for the specialists. Creating and promoting alternatives for spending spare time. Changing the public opinion and creating favorable attitudes for preventing drug use and abuse. Strengthening and developing the network of centers for preventing drug use and abuse in all counties. Developing the specific training courses in the university curricula. Creating the opportunities for an active involvement of the private sector by providing prevention and treatment of drug use and abuse. Periodically assessment of the preventing programs regarding the drug use and addiction. Developing and diversifying the co-operation between the national and international agencies having the same goal like drug use prevention. Developing the criminological studies on the data regarding the drug users and dealers. 4. DIFFICULTIES MEET IN DIMINISHING DRUG USE AND ADDICTION Limited financial resources, inappropriate management; The absence of performance indicators and of a data monitoring and centralizing system; Insufficiently structured partnerships between governmental and nongovernmental organizations in carrying out programs of preventing drug use and addiction; The lack of coherence in the Romanian society's acknowledgement regarding the drug use and addiction; The limited capacity of Romanian institutions and authorities empowered to intervene and reduce criminality; The lack of trained specialists to be able to act from an interdisciplinary perspective. 5. OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIMINISHING DRUG USE AND ADDICTION: The existence of political will to elaborate a strategy of preventing drug use and addiction; The developing of an appropriate legal framework regarding the prevention and the fight against drug use and addiction; The involvement of some NGOs in drug use prevention activities; The training of specialists in the fields of education, police, health and youth etc. The allocation of funds from the public health budget - through National Programs - and also the existence of external funding for the prevention of drug use; The potential funding from international financial institutions; The existence of statistic data regarding drug use and the trends of the drug phenomenon; Appropriate working methods and techniques; Changing, at the community level, the public opinion regarding the drug use and addiction; The approval of valuable projects with appropriate audit and control 6. THE ANT-DRUG COUNSELLING AND PREVENTION CENTRES "); page[23]=new Array("agenties.htm","National agencies ","","Mission Interministérielle de Lutte contre la Drogue et la Toxicomanie (M.I.L.D.T.), France Gesundheitsberichterstattung des Bundes (Federal Health Monitoring System), Reutlingen National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), Rockville, MD Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) National Bureau for Drug Prevention Poland (Epidemiologia Narkomanii w Polsce) Swiss Federal Office of Public Health Belgian information network on drugs and drug addiction (Reitox) Plan Nacional Sobre Drogas (National Plan on Drugs - PNSD), Madrid Luxemburgish Information Network on Drugs and Drug Addiction - (RELIS), Luxembourg The Italian REITOX focal point Státní zdravotní ústav (National Institute of Public Health), Prague The Greek REITOX Focal Point, Athens NIDA National Institute on Drug Abuse Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Arlington, VA Organisations internationales E.M.C.D.D.A. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction UNAIDS The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNDCP United Nations International Drug Control Programme Regional Office for the Western Pacific Tobacco Free Initiative World Health Organization Collaborative Project on Identification and Management of Alcohol-related Problems in Primary Health Care: Phase IV Drug Misuse Prevalence Estimation at the Local Level European Commission - Prevention of drug dependence Interpol (Drug control) Qualitative European Drug Research (QED) Substance Abuse in the Workplace Database (International Labour Organisation - ILO) Qualitative European Drug Research, EMCDDA / N.A.C. International Narcotics Control Board Comision Interamericana para el Control del Abuso de Drogas (Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission - CICAD), Washington DC N.G.O. s' Fédération française de l'alcoologie ambulatoire Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group Mentor Foundation on Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Prevline - Prevention Online NIAAA National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism The Community Epidemiology Work Group Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada Substance Abuse Resource Center, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Virtual Clearing House on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs A-Clinic Foundation, Helsinki Daily Dose (a collection of based ressources relating to drug and alcohol misuse) Centre Régional d'Information et de Prévention du Sida (CRIPS), France Bremer Institut für Drogenforschung (Bremen Institute for Drug Research - Bisdro), Bremen BrugerForeningen (Danish Drug User Union), Copenhagen Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), Ottawa Centralförbundert för Alkohol och Narkotikaupplysning (Swedish Council for Information) Centre Européen pour la Surveillance Epidémiologique du SIDA (European Centre for the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS), Paris Centre for Drug Misuse Research, Glasgow Centrum voor Drugsonderzoek (Centre for Drug Research - CEDRO), Amsterdam Cork Bibliographic Database Deutsches Institut für Medizinische Dokumentation und Information (German Institute for Medical Documentation and Information - DIMDI), Cologne Drug Library European Addiction Training Institute (EATI), Amsterdam European Cities on Drug Policy (ECDP) Fundación de Ayuda Contra la Drogadicción (FAD), Madrid IDEA-Prevención, Madrid Institut für Suchtforschung (Institute for Addiction Research), Zurich Institut für Therapieforschung (Institute for Therapy Research - IFT), Munich Institut Scientifique de la Santé Publique - Louis Pasteur / Wetenschappelijk Instituut Volkgezondheid - Louis Pasteur Instituto Portugues das Drogas e da Toxicodependencia (Portuguese Institute for Drugs and Drug Addiction - IPDT), Lisbon Itaca (European Association of Professionals Working with Drug Dependencies) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Bethesda, MD National Library of Medicine (NLM), Bethesda, MD Nordiska nämnden för alkohol- och drogforskning (Nordic Council for Alcohol and Drug Research - NAD) Resourcenet, United Kingdom Riksförbundet För Hjälp at narkotika- och Läkemedelsberoende / National Association for Aid to Drug Users, Stockholm SALIS - Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF), Glasgow Scottish Drugs Training Project, Stirling Socialstyrelsen (National Board of Health and Welfare), Stockholm Sosiaali ja terveysalan tutkimus ja kehittämiskeskus (National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health - STAKES), Helsinki Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Rockville, MD The Lindesmith Center (TLC), New York Volatile Substance Abuse Mortality, St George's Hospital Medical School, London Web of Addictions European Treatment Centers for Drug Addiction Cranstoun Drug Services Central and Eastern European Network of Drug Services in Prison "); page[24]=new Array("parteners.htm","The National Anti-Drug Agency's Partners ","","The Health Massagers Association. The partnership object is to develop common programs on harm-reduction in general population exposed to the risks - children, teen-agers and youths. The International Federation of the Educative Communities from Romania. The partnership aims to initiate and to train a number of 150 voluntaries which will develop a series of activities on harm-redaction primer prevention, in schools and high schools on the principle peer to peer education . Save the Children Organization. The partnership object is to implement common programs on harm-reduction and drugs use abuse, initial and continues professional training in addicts field. Romanian Anti-Drug Association. The aim's collaboration is to implement a pilot project which has to establish a Residential Center, a therapeutic community, for drug users and the professional training for specialists which will work on tertiary prevention. The International Foundation for Child and Family. The protocol object is to develop common projects and activities on harm-reduction, on human-beings illegal traffic and on work abused people- children, teen-agers and youths. The Romania Caritas Confederation. The partnership protocol wants to create, organize and implement an initial training project for the harm-reduction field professionals, on the advisers and psychotherapy techniques used in addicts treatment. Will be trains a number of 22 specialists from the Prevention and Conciliating Anti-Drug Centers and non-government organizations. The Romanian Group for the Defense of Human Rights Association. The partnership scope is to implement in common the pilot project for the drug use prevention and addicts treatment ( information-education-sensibility, create support groups family therapy for the drug parents users ). The Jean Valjean Association promoting juvenile Justice. The protocol object is to implement the pilot project on juvenile crime, sponsored by Terre des Hommes and UNICEF-Romania. The primary prevention and drugs use project in juvenile crime is addressed to school abandon pupils, with the ages between 12-16, from the 5th sector in Bucharest, because this area has the highest school abandon risk, juvenile crime, drug use and trafficking from the capital. It wants to be develop, until the end of 2004, in a partnership system, an harm-reduction model in juvenile crime which can be used in the others sectors of Bucharest. The Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation. The partnership between the National Anti-Drug Agency and this Foundation has a common pilot project called LOT-Drug 2004-2005 , is on harm-reduction drugs in the high school pupils from Bucharest, and it wants to help them implicate in resolving their age specifics problems. The project is part of an initiatives group for teen ages, the project will be establish for 3 years, in different European countries, and will mark the improvement of the Public Health problems. The Association of Community Care Helios Craiova. The scope of this partnership is to develop a Phare project, to create a after-care therapeutic community, base on National Anti-Drug Agency performance. The Community Health Foundation. The administrate and implement common projects are: The Reintegrate Services for the Young Drug Users-a model community participates and to Create a model integrate services for the drug users. Will be develop the Guide for clinical practice for the substitute treatment services with methadone. The Romanian-Civic-Culture-Humanity Foundation of the 3rd Millennium Florentina, Prahova area. The scope of the partnership is to train specialists and to supervise the activities from the after-care therapeutic community which will be in Plopeni, Prahova area. Community Health Anti-Drug Association - Romania. The scope of the partnership is to implement in common projects in primary prevention in the Educations Institutes from Romania. The Hope Bridge Foundation. The protocol object is to train specialists in addicts treatment field, base on the good practices Nederland model, De Hoop foundation. The Everything for Life Association. The partnership scope is to implement common projects on primary harm-reduction drugs field. "); page[25]=new Array("propunere.htm","A STRATEGY OF CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY PROMOTION. JOIN US WITH A PROPOSAL! ","","Are you worry about the level of drug addiction in Romania? Do you want that things develop faster to the right direction? Do you think that not all the positive energies are used in order to help the ones involved in drug addiction? Wouldn't you like to disconsider the troubles of the persons around you? Do you have an idea? Would you like to help? Join us with a proposal! Your proposals, aiming any area connected to the anti-drug combat, will be sent to the National Anti-drug Agency. All of them will be published on our site, and the most valuable of them will be monthly awarded and will be recorded in the purpose of finding the most adequate solutions "); page[26]=new Array("contactus.htm","Press >> Contact Us ","","Head of the Press Department: Prof. Petre Craciun Tel: 0040-021-323.56.03 Fax: 0040-021-326.67.27 E-mail: petre.craciun@ana.gov.ro Adress: No 37, Unirii Boulevard, Bloc A4, ground floor Bucharest, Sector 3 Romania "); page[27]=new Array("craciun.htm","CURRICULUM VITAE Prof. Petre Craciun Head of the Press Department","","Surname: CRACIUN Forename: PETRE Date and place of birth: august the 29th 1962, Giurgiu Contact: Address: 37 Unirii Bvd., Block A4, sc.1, ground floor Sector 3, Bucharest, Romania Phone.: 0040-021-3235603 Fax: 0040-021-3266727 E-mail: petre.craciun@ana.gov.ro Studies: - The University of Bucharest, Faculty of History and Philosophy, History section, graduated in 1986; specialized in ancient history and archaeology. Graduation thesis on Funeral rituals of the Geto-Dacians between the fifth and the first century B.C.. Courses: - Post-universitary course, Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences, University of Bucharest - Mass-media relations for law enforcing institutions, organized by the U.S.A Department of Justice - F.B.I., 2002 Professional activities: - 1986 - 1982: history teacher in Giurgiu county and to Mihai Viteazul National College, Ploiesti; - 1992 - 1998: editor and editor-in-chief to Argus weekly newspaper, edited by Prahova County Police Inspectorate; - oct. 1998 - jan. 1999: editor to the Radio Broadcasting Office of the Ministry of Interior; - jan. 1999 - aug. 1999: editor to the Romanian Police weekly newspaper; - aug. 1999 - may 2000: editor-in-chief to the Romanian Police weekly newspaper; - jun. 2000 - sept. 2002: head of the Press Group of the Ministry of Interior, coordinating the activities of all the editorial offices in the Ministry of Interior (the magazines For our Homeland and Romanian Police; the Radio and the T.V. - Film Broadcasting Offices); - sept. 2002 - aug. 2003: deputy of the chief of the Public Relations Department in the Ministry of Interior on press issues; - since sept. 2003: responsible on public relations to National Antidrug Agency and editor-in-chief of the t.v.-show Life is your choise on Romania 1 T.V. Channel. Activities in the field of PR and mass-media - since may 2003: member of the leading board of the Romanian PR Association, the only professional organisation in the field - author of the Public Relations in the Ministry of Interior - Image and Reality documentary, 2002. The film (30 min.) is the first one of this type in our country meant for personnel and managers training - editor-in-chief and host of Amprente, a Ministry of Interior T.V. show on Romania 1 T.V. Channel - author of screenplay, editor-in-chief and host of Misiune permanenta, a Ministry of Interior T.V. show on Romania International T.V. Channel (since oct. 2002). The T.V. show comprising topics in the field of Romania's European integration - since oct. 2003, editor-in-chief and host of Life is your choise, a National Antidrug Agency T.V. show on Romania 1 T.V. Channel - manager of Life is your choice 's interactive web site - www.alegeviataana.ro - manager of the National Antidrug Agency's official web site - www.ana.gov.ro Edited works, and other activities: - 1995 - detective story Cureaua cu tinte, Neroandria Publishing House - 1996 - poems Introspectii, Sinteze Publishing House - 1996 - detective story Alarma la Peles, Grafica prahoveana Publishing House - 1998 - Povestile de la bojdeuca, a collection comprising the works awarded to the Ion Creanga Fairy Tales Contest, in Iasi, 1997, Junimea Publishing House - 2001 - Cuvânt dinlauntru, essays, Premier Publishing House - 2003 - Floarea întelepciunii si iarba puterii, Fairy Tales, Timpolis Publishing House - 2003 - În spatele oglinzii, poems, Europa Nova Publishing House - 2003 - Alege viata, drogul înseamna moarte, interviews, Codecs Publishing House. This is the first book published in Romania, about former and present-day drug consumers and the most important specialists in the field. - 1995 - 1997 - screenplays for 12 detective movies, issued by the Romanian Television, in Enigma show. Awards: - 1997: the Great Award of the Writers Association in Iasi, for the first place in the Ion Creanga Fairy Tales Contest, the only competition of this type in our country. Married with two children: Andrei (20 years old, a second grade student, to the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Political Sciences) and Cristian (16 years old, pupil of Mihai Viteazul College, Bucharest). "); page[28]=new Array("doc1.htm","Crime and Supply Data","","John Corkery, BA Hons, MSc, MPhil Honorary Senior Research Fellow Department of Mental Health - Addictive Behaviour St George's Hospital Medical School University of London Overview Although not currently one of the EMCDDA's key indicators, information on drug-related crime and drug availability or supply are important aspects of building up the picture of drug use in a country. In this presentation I will outline the range of data on drug seizures that can be collected - types of drugs and the form in which they are found, numbers and quantities, purity levels, and price. Data on 'reports' for drug law offences and how offenders are dealt with (for possible inclusion National Reports) will also be examined. The generation of such data from law enforcement and administrative systems will be discussed, including sources such as the police, Customs and other agencies. Information from surveys or research studies (e.g. in prisons) will also be examined. The collection, collation, cleaning and analysis of these data will be examined. Methodological issues to be covered will include what is meant by 'seizure', 'criminal drug law reports', 'drug-related' versus 'drug' offences; respresentativeness of price data, and the measurement of average purity levels e.g. arithmetic mean versus weighted mean, mode, etc., together with the contents of tablets and drug use among prisoners. I will present worked examples using data from various parts of the UK and other parts of Europe to illustrate the various points being made. Analysis will cover variables such as frequencies of numbers of seizures and amounts recovered, distribution by weight bands, changes over time, and geographical variations. I will relate these to the reporting needs outlined in existing EMCDDA guidance, e.g. Standard Tables and the use of checklists. I am very grateful for comments and suggestions made on an earlier draft by Chlöe Carpentier. Introduction Although not currently one of the EMCDDA's key indicators, information on drug-related crime and drug availability or supply 'reports' for drug law offences are important aspects of building up the picture of drug use in a country. There is a range of data on crime and supply data that can be collected - Types of drug seized - The form in which they are found - Number of seizures - Quantities seized - Purity levels - Price - Contents of tablets sold as ecstasy, etc. - Cultivation, processing, manufacture - Trafficking routes and modes (origin/destination of drugs seized) - Data on ''reports' for drug law offences - Data on drug use among prisoners (possibly for National Reports) Because there is no workshop as such for this topic, real examples of some of the points made will be given to enhance comprehension. These be will be mostly drawn from my own experience in the UK over the past 10 years or more. Generation of data If this has not already been undertaken, the first action required is to contact potential experts within your country to obtain information and document in a systematic way the data that may touch directly or indirectly on drug crime and supply issues - i.e. Information Map. This can then be continually updated. Information on this process is contained in the following document. Such a document could include, e.g. sources and types of information, how they are generated and by whom, their regularity & timeliness, completeness of information, data quality issues, whether published or not. http://www.emcdda.eu.int/situation/themes/crime_information_map.shtml Law enforcement & administrative systems - Police, Customs, other agencies - National Crime Squad, Forensic Science Service, National Criminal Intelligence Service, police services of the Armed Forces, special police forces e.g. railway, tunnels, ports, airports police, Armed Forces, prisons (for drug seizures), courts. Information on access to drugs/perceived availability of drugs will come from surveys of the general population and other groups, and perhaps of 'key informants' Information on drug use among prisoners and arrestees can also be obtained through surveys, but also through routine drug screening/testing There are also information systems set up by health agencies that can provide useful data e.g. on contents of tablets or purity or price of drugs at street level. These can supplement or compliment information from law enforcement agencies. Data collection, collation and cleaning - The Standard Tables provide guidance on the minimum data items that need to be collected. - If there are many sources of information, e.g. many police forces, there can be problems in getting the data in all at the same time - It is best to aim for direct electronic data submission - Data items should be for individual events - seizures, 'reports' for drug law offences, court appearances, etc. to allow for detailed analysis rather than summary data which limits the types and level(s) of analysis. For example, information submitted by agencies as summary tables will not allow regression analysis. - Data should be validated before submission rather than on entry or after entry to the database; this will save much time by the centre responsible for collating and analysing the data. This could be done by centrally providing software with in-built validation routines that has to be used by all data suppliers. However, if this is not possible (in the UK there are more than 50 independent police forces that can use whatever IT systems they want), then specifications should be drawn up and disseminated so that data is submitted in a standard way. - Data formats should ideally be the same from all agencies, especially on drug seizures. In the latter context, regard should be had to the EU decision on drug seizure harmonisation (see Further Resources below). - Standardisation will facilitate streamlining and having to maintain several different databases and sets of analysis programs. - Specific protocols should be drawn up and followed for cleaning data from each particular type of source. The same general principles should apply to both seizures and 'arrest' information. - Ideally, each seizure should be allocated a specific and unique reference and be entered onto a database shared by all agencies making seizures. There should be protocols drawn up, if not already in place, so that a seizure is only claimed once by a single agency or in the case of joint operations. These measures will prevent double-counting of seizure numbers and quantities. - Aim for data collection with records on a one-to-one relationship basis rather than a many-to-many basis. Do not use the UK Customs approach where all the suspects and all the drugs confiscated in a seizure event are recorded - but not the drugs associated with each suspect. This means that some analysts have massively over inflated the quantities of drugs seized by counting all the drugs for all individuals in a seizure event. - Rather than count each 'exhibit' as a drug seized, the total amount for each drug-type and preparation type confiscated during a seizure event should be recorded, otherwise double-counting of drugs seized can occur - but not the amounts confiscated. - Price data should be collected in a systematic way by law enforcement agencies to enable proper comparisons to be made between and within areas. The data should be recorded in an appropriate database, probably within a forensic science agency. - The data fields should include: source of information, method of collection, location, amount seized, purities, constituents/contents, price, etc. Having this information will permit (a) proper analyses to be conducted, e.g. not only arithmetic means and ranges but also standard deviations, etc. at different distribution levels; (b) analysis of the relationship between purity and price. - Attempts should be made to obtain information from all forensic science agencies that analyse drug seizures (including pills) so that as complete a picture as possible can be obtained. - Data on prices may also be available through surveys of drug users, and pill contents from health (and other) agencies offering pill-testing facilities at entertainment/festival venues. Data analysis The source (agency), reason for collection and method of generation will determine the availability of data, how they can be used and analysed. Analysis has to be undertaken with both the Standard Tables in mind and the writing of the National Report, and any domestic statistics that might be needed and/or published. At a basic level, the minimum that should appear in the National Report will be based on the Standard Tables. Types of analysis The suggestions proposed here relate not only to the data supplied for the Standard Tables but also for National Reports. Drug seizures (ST 13) - Frequencies and percentages of seizure events and amounts recovered By type of agency By class and main drug types (e.g. UK Class A - heroin, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, methadone, LSD; Class B - amphetamines; Class C - cannabis, benzodiazepines, anabolic steroids) By geographical area, e.g. police force/administrative area Over time - last 5 or 10/11 years - Distribution by weight/quantity bands (where items have been weighed) Kg for weighed items e.g. heroin, cocaine, crack, methadone (converted from liquid), morphine, cannabis (herbal, resin, oil), amphetamine Doses for LSD, ecstasy (and other tablets?) Number of plants - cannabis - Choose bands that make sense or relate to different distribution levels - Changes over time Percentage change in Year2 compared to Year1 Drug purities (ST 14) - Average purity of seizures of powdered drugs, e.g. heroin, cocaine, crack, amphetamines - mean, weighted mean, mode for police and Customs confiscations. Give the sample sizes so that suitable statistical tests and interpretations can be made. - Consider doing this for different distribution levels; it is also important to identify purities at street/retail level - Information on cutting/bulking agents may provide information on sources of drugs and where they were processed, etc. - e.g. heroin profiling - Other substances? - Strength of cannabis - Trends over time, statistical tests (difference between two proportions) to see if changes are significant - Constituents of tablets e.g. ecstasy, percentage of MDMA, MDA, MDEA, etc. Contents of tablets sold as ecstasy, etc (ST 15) - Breakdown of contents found in the total number of tablets analysed: percentage in column should equal 100%; however this table should be reviewed soon as the number of options in line is not sufficient (it doesn't cover all situations) - Average weight of MDMA in a tablets, as well as minimum and maximum weights found - always provide the sample size Drug prices (ST 16) - Average price and/or range for main drug types at different retail levels - Consider whether to give for different cities/regions or just national ones - Note that there can be great variation in price even within a neighbourhood, and between dealers and their clients depending on how well known they are known to each other. - Consider doing this for different distribution levels; it is important to identify prices at street/retail level - Always describe the method of collection to identify possible biases, and report the size of the sample that prices are based on. - Relate to purity levels and availability, but realise that these relationships can change over time and may not comply with traditional demand/supply models of economics. It can therefore be difficult/impossible to definitive interpretation of trends. Drug law offences (ST 11) - Focus on criminal 'reports' for drug law offences; but if there are data available on offences of drug use/possession enforced through administrative sanction, they should be analysed in the same way as the criminal ones but separately. Examples include 'compounding' by UK Customs and 'fiscal' fines imposed by prosecutors in Scotland. These are financial penalties which do not result in the 'offender' receiving a criminal record, as they do not admit any guilt. It is similar to a parking ticket. - Number and percentages of individuals dealt with for drug offences or number and percentages of drug law offences (this depends on the statistical unit) on individual occasions during a year, broken down in various ways and cross-tabulated: - By main drug type - Age and gender if individuals counted - Specific drug offences - Disposals/sanctions imposed (not required by the EMCDDA) - By area, e.g. police force/administrative area - Average length of prison sentences (not required by the EMCDDA) - Average amount of fine/financial penalties imposed (not required by the EMCDDA) - Changes over time, e.g. last 5 years, last 10/11 years; links with law enforcement strategies/policies, if any, or prosecution strategies - Population in prison for drug offences (National Report) - broken down by - Gender (nationality, ethnicity) - Offence including drug offences - Main drug type - Changes over time Drug use among prisoners (ST 12) - At reception into prison/within prison - For different drugs identified separately and for all illicit drugs - According to different definitions of drug use (Life time prevalence, last year prevalence, last month prevalence, IDU, regular DU, etc.) - In different populations (males/females, adults/youths, on remand/convicted), etc. Drug-related offending 'criminal law reports' data and research (National Report) - If this information is collected routinely then most of the types of analysis listed in the previous section could be undertaken. - If such data are not collected, consideration could be given to adding variables to existing data collection forms and/or databases to indicate that an offence is related to drugs in some way and the nature of that relationship. - What is more likely to exist is information from surveys or research involving drug-using arrestees and/or offenders. This information can be beneficially used to gain an insight in the proportion of crime that is drug-related, and the types of offences which are committed to fund drug habits, which offences may be precipitated by being on drugs e.g. driving, violence. The disproportionate of effect of repeat offenders can be explored in this way. Methodological issues - Definitions should be clearly stated. Where there are differences between agencies in definitions these should be explained, and attempts should be made to use one definition across a country. - The same is true for statistical units - In the case of seizures, reference should be made to work of the Council of Europe on the harmonisation of precursor and drug seizure data collection, and analysis. e.g. 'seizure'. - ''Reports' for drug law offences is a very broad term. In order to make international comparisons it is important to state at which stage of the criminal justice system the data are being collected e.g. informal action by police/Customs, arrest, prosecution, following court appearance - 'Drug' offences - in many countries use/consumption of illicit drugs is not illegal, but possession is. This needs to be made clear. Other drug offences such as unlawful supply and import/export are clearer to define. There may be difficulties distinguishing between 'production' and 'cultivation' depends on how offences are recorded. The term 'drug-related crime' has been defined by the EMCDDA with a group of experts and Europol. Please see below the consensus definition of 'drug-related crime'. 1. Psychopharmacological crimes: crimes committed under the influence of a psychoactive substance 2. Economic compulsive crimes: crimes committed in order to obtain money (or drugs) to support a drug use 3. Systemic crimes: crimes committed within the functioning of illicit drug markets, as part of the business of illicit drug distribution and supply 4. Drug law offences: crimes committed against drug (and other related) legislation - Some people may commit drug offences but not be users; conversely some may commit non-drug crimes because they are users. There is also a considerable degree of overlap. - Definitions should remain stable over time. - Where there is a change, e.g. new drugs coming under control or changes to the class that a particular drug belongs to, data should be presented both on the previous and new bases where possible to allow for the back and forward projection of trends - Representativeness of price and purity data - Source(s) of information and data collection methods should be stated so that any bias can be taken into account. For example, prices reported by police may not be representative because only certain officers may report prices. More robust data could come from systematic test purchases, or by asking dealers/purchasers when they are arrested what the going prices are. Further information could be obtained from surveys of users (e.g. at clubs, festivals). - Measurement of average purity levels (at different levels including street, wholesale and import) e.g. arithmetic mean versus weighted mean, mode etc., including tests of significance Data quality issues Data sources - should be briefly described in the National Report, together with issues regarding definitions, completeness, timeliness of data submission, and any limitations. If there are thought to be any problems with the quality of the data, these should be stated in simple terms, and contacts/references given for further information. Alternatively, technical notes can be included. If it is thought that the data are not robust then this should be stated rather than using misleading information. Interpretation Statistics on drug seizures and 'reports' for drug law offences are not necessarily reflections of drug use or supply but of legal policies, interventions and particularly of law enforcement activities. Changes in any of these can affect not only the volumes reflected in the figures but also their composition. What these figures are useful for is showing trends over time. In conjunction with other indicators they can give a more complete picture. Research can help to fill in some of the gaps. Seizures are used as an indirect indicator of supply and availability. Data on price, purity and composition of tablets at street level, together with data on perceived availability or access from surveys are all used to try to get a picture of drug availability at user's level. Data on drug use among prisoners are used to get a picture of drug use in a specific (and socially excluded) population - inmates. Caveats should be given where results are based on small numbers. Always give the number of events/persons. If there is the possibility of double-counting occurring for any of the reasons mentioned above (or any other reasons), this should be stated or guidance given as to whether this is likely to be an over-estimation or not. The use of significance tests should be encouraged whenever and wherever possible. These can be included in National Reports, but probably omitted from publications aimed at a general readership. Such tests may not be possible to calculate from the information in Standard Tables alone. Additional data may need to be collected or may be available. The links between stop & search and drug seizures and subsequent arrest/court appearances should be explained. We know that many seizures of drugs, especially of amphetamines and cannabis arise from stops and searches. Evidence indicates that, although only a minority of all stops and searches result in an arrest, they are relatively important in leading to arrests for drug use (see Home Office Research Study 155: PACE ten years on: a review of the research). Half of all drug offences coming to the notice of the police do so as a result of stops and searches (see Home Office Research Study 185: Entry into the criminal justice system: a survey of police arrests and their outcomes). The time lag between drug seizures where there is a suspect and resulting police and/or court action should be explained, i.e. the seizure patterns in year1 may be reflected in the 'arrest' (particularly court disposal) figures in following year (Year2) or even later (Year3). If the seizure and offender/offence databases were linked this would be even easier to demonstrate. (For National Reports) Are the sentence lengths recorded for drug offences or could they reflect sentences for other offences considered by the court at the same time? Are the courts 'rolling up' the offences as in Scotland where the sentence (s) are handed down for all the offences dealt with on that one court appearance? If an offender was also convicted of a more serious offence the sentence recorded will reflect the other offence rather than the drug offence. and thus distort the statistics. Analysis of the contents of pills may lead to new substances being detected. This can act as part of an 'early warning system'. It should be remembered that drug availability and/or price might be affected by production some time before hand. In the case of heroin, for example, it appears that about a year elapses between opium being harvested in Afghanistan and it hitting the streets of London as illicit heroin - the 'one-year later' model. However, stockpiling of large quantities of drugs in third countries can also affect availability. The effects of law enforcement interventions and policies need to be borne in mind when undertaking interpretation of both short and long term trends. The effects of a shortage of one drug may lead to increased use of other 'substitute' substances and thereby increasing demand and prices, lowering purities, etc of these other drugs - as was seen in Australia following the recent 'heroin drought'. EMCDDA reporting requirements National Reports National Reports contain two chapters relating to Crime and Supply issues: Chapter 8 - Social correlates and consequences; Chapter 10 - Drug markets. These chapters have to be supplied by mid-October. The National Report should, in addition to routine standardised data i.e. Standard Tables, also analyse non-routine and/or non-standardised data/information, provided by either non-standardised routine monitoring systems or through ad-hoc studies/surveys. This will mean some overlap with aspects of Chapter 2 (Drug use in the population). Chapter 8 Chapter 8 is an overview or summary of a number of social correlates and consequences of drug use. There are 2 particular sections that are of specific concern in the present context - drug-related crime and drug use in prison. I would also suggest that it is important to consider drug use amongst the offending population more generally, as it also ties in with drug-related crime. Key topics Drug offences - looks at 'criminal reports' for drug law offences, e.g. drug use, trafficking, production, cultivation, supply, possession, import/export etc. Other drug-related crime looks at crime which - is committed in order to fund drug habits e.g. property crimes, (illegal?) prostitution, - to obtain drugs fraudulently, e.g. prescription offences - committed whilst under the influence of drugs, e.g. driving, violence - ? (sexual) assaults using drugs, e.g. the use of date rape drugs - ? violence/homicide associated with disputes related to drugs, e.g. 'turf wars' Drug use in prison - Drug use amongst prison inmates - Problem drug use amongst prison inmates - For both: issues related to different definitions, different populations, drug use before/within prison - Analysis of data from ST12 completed by further breakdowns (e.g. by gender or age) and/or related-data from other sources which were not used to fill in ST12. Drug use amongst arrestees - Drug use amongst those arrested by police - Problem drug use amongst those arrested by police - For both: issues related to different definitions, different populations, drug use before/within prison Check list For each of these key topics, it is necessary to cover: - New developments and trends - Analysis of the relationship between different indicators (including the Key Indicators) The second and third elements may well be inter-related with some of the crimes outlined in the first element here. - Analyses of trends in a wider context, e.g. political, legal, economic & social changes, demand & supply reduction activities, etc. Main results of new research projects and studies, meta-analysis, evaluation projects Chapter 10 This chapter is an overview or summary on drug supply, drug markets and drug availability. Key topics Availability and Supply - Availability of drugs (perceived availability/access in the population, and other indicators) amongst: (a) general population; (b) specific groups/places/settings; (c) problem drug users - Availability should be analysed through a multi-indicator analysis: look at seizures, prices, purity, perceived availability/access, other data if any, in order to see if there is a trend in availability (increasing or decreasing availability) according to the different drugs - Production, cultivation, sources of supply and trafficking patterns within country(s) as well as from and towards other countries - Origin and destination of drugs seized can be an indicator of production countries and trafficking routes/patterns; should distinguish between origin as where it was produced and origin as from which country it has been transported before being seized. Seizures - Quantities of seizures - Number of drug seizures Price & Purity - Price of drugs at street level - Purity at street level - Composition of tablets/drugs Check list The following should be included: - New developments and trends regarding each of the key topics - Analyses of the relationship between these indicators and those in other chapters - Analyses of trends in a wider context, e.g. political, legal, economic & social changes, demand & supply reduction activities, etc. - Main results of new research projects and studies (?and meta-analysis, evaluation projects) Standard Tables There are 6 Standard Tables relating to Crime and Supply issues. ST 11 Reports for drug law offences ST 12 Drug use among prisoners ST 13 Quantity and number of seizures of illicit drugs ST 14 Purity at street level (retail level) of illicit drugs ST 15 Composition of tablets sold as illicit drugs (ecstasy, etc.) ST 16 Price in Euros at street level of illicit drugs The Standard Tables are supposed to cover routinely collected standardised data. These have to be submitted by the end of September. Both the Standard Tables (ST) and the National Report should be consistent with each other and complementary. The National Reports submitted should include, in an integrated way, both the analysis of the data provided in the Standard Tables and other non-routine information mentioned in the check list. Formulation of questions & hypotheses - Questions that are to be asked of the data should be based on the information collected. - Questions should be oriented to describing the patterns of current drug phenomena and trends over time that are of concern to the EMCDDA and national governments. - A key question might be: - Is our country experiencing more problems with heroin? - This could be turned into the following hypotheses - Seizures - What amount of heroin was seized in 2003, and how does this compare with 2002? - 'Reports' for drug law offences - How many people were suspected/arrested for importing heroin in 2003, and was this higher than in 2002? - Price - Has the average street price of heroin fallen in the last year? - Purity - Has the average (mean) street purity of heroin fallen in the last year? - Availability - Do our general population/problem user surveys reveal that users find it easier to obtain heroin compared with the previous survey sweep? - The answers to such questions can then be related to other indicators e.g. number of individuals seeking treatment for dependence on heroin, prevalence rates from surveys, etc. Organisation of information Possible structures for sections might be, for example, as follows: Seizures - Definitions - What agencies make seizures of drugs and how they work together, their proportionate share in terms of seizure numbers and amounts confiscated - Particular policies which may affect interdiction - Overview of figures for year being reported on and comparison with previous year for main drugs of interest - More detailed analysis for each main drug including numbers and quantities seized in current and previous years, geographical patterns, agencies. This could also include some background information on cultivation/production/sources of drugs and distribution - Are any new substances or new preparations of existing drugs appearing? However, this should be seen within the structure of the checklist in Chapter 10 i.e. it starts with availability, then production and trafficking, then seizures, and then price, purity and composition of tablets. Drug law offences/offenders - Definitions - Particular policies which may affect interdiction - Numbers of offenders and how they have been dealt with/disposals, including geographical patterns - Age and gender of offenders - current figures and trend data - Type of drug offence - current figures and trend data, including geographical patterns - People under sentence in prison - Financial penalties - Main drug types - offences and disposals, and geographical patterns Here too, this should be seen within the structure of the checklist in Chapter 8. Errors made in presentation & terminology Make sure that the unit of analysis is always given for tables and charts, and the level of counting, e.g., offender vs. offence; seizure (event) vs. drug seized within a seizure. When giving amounts make clear the unit is given kg, dose/tablets, number of plants, and if liquids have been converted to weights, e.g. methadone mixture to dry powder equivalents. Where seizures and/or 'arrest' figures are broken down by drug type make it clear whether the figures for individual drugs/ classes of drugs can be summed to produce totals and sub-totals or if to do so would mean double-counting some elements and artificially inflating numbers/quantities. When using the term 'offender' may it clear whether the word is being used in a broad sense to cover those who are suspected of an offence as well as those who have been formally convicted by a court and those dealt with in other ways, or whether it has a narrow definition. Similarly, with the term 'drug law crime report' - does it just mean those individuals apprehended by law enforcement agencies, the number of apprehensions or does it refer to all events where an offence have been committed, or people have been dealt with for a suspected offence? Make sure that drug names are correctly spelled, especially unusual ones. Ideal presentation of data Sentences should not be too long or complex. Paragraphs should be kept short (possibly numbered for clarity) Make use of bullet points or tirets Try and standardise the layout of tables. Try and keep at tables orientated in the same way e.g. portrait or landscape but not a mixture - unless in separate sections. Detailed tables can be given in appendices and simplified ones, bringing out the main points, in the text. Keep table numbering sequential, and try not to change the order from one year to another. Keep text near to tables and charts that they refer to. Do not use artificial precision e.g. too many decimal places Graphics/charts should not be too 'busy' i.e. contain too much information/detail Fonts should be simple and standardised, and large enough to read without artificial aids. The type of chart/graph should chosen to suit the dimensions of the data to be explored e.g. two- or three-dimensional Fills in graphs or tables should be chosen that can be easily seen and copied e.g. be distinguished when printed or reproduced in black and white Maps can be used to demonstrate geographical variations/patterns Rates per resident population facilitate easier comparisons between geographical units Proportions and index numbers can be used to compare items measured in different ways e.g. units and of different volumes. Additional check list Are tables consistent with one another where they are counting items on the same basis? Are all footnotes correctly numbered and been updated where appropriate Are definitions clear? Are technical notes needed? If so, where should they go? Are sample sizes given? Do table and chart titles accurately describe their contents? Examples of tables, charts, maps, etc from my own UK publications to illustrate some of these points. Drug offenders, United Kingdom, 1970-2000.(1) 1970 1980 1990 2000 Total offenders 8,412 17,158 44,922 104,390 Of which, Unlawful possession 7,107 14,030 39,350 92,877 Trafficking(2) 594 2,496 6,680 14,928 Of which, Immediate Custody 1,068 1,676 3,402 9,386 Fine - 239 17,025 42,021 Compounding(3) - - 1,184 NA Fiscal fine (Scotland only) - - - 681 Of which, Cannabis 7,480 14,912 40,194 75,985 Amphetamines NA 827 2,330 6,637 Heroin 281 751 1,605 12,297 Cocaine 162 476 860 5,451 LSD 757 246 915 260 Ecstasy-type NA NA 286 6,630 (1) Data not yet available for 2001. (2) Unlawful production of drugs (exc. cannabis), unlawful supply, and possession with intent to supply unlawfully, unlawful import and export. Production of cannabis included from 1995. (3) Financial penalty imposed by H. M. Customs & Excise in lieu of prosecution. Typically used for unlawful importation of small amounts of drugs for personal use. Future plans The EMCDDA will be organising a 3 day-meeting on 13-15 October with experts from all the EU and Norway (26 countries) about these 6 ST. It will be mainly a training meeting about methodological problems and how to fill in these tables, but they will also review them and improve them in the light of problems experienced by the EMCDDA in analysing them and by the participants in filling them) in the last 6 years. This is the first time such a meeting on the issues of crime and supply will be organised. All the NFPs will be contacted to nominate an expert to attend this meeting. Further resources and examples Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, UK 2000 - main report http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb402.pdf Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, UK 2000 - area tables http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb402area.pdf Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, UK 2000 - supplementary tables http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb402supp.pdf Review of UK drug seizure and offender statistics http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/nsqr29_drugs.pdf Council of the European Union Article 36 Committee - Council recommendations on the alignment of law enforcement drug and diverted precursors seizures statistics. 12411/1/01 STUP 26. 30th October 2001 http://register.consilium.eu.int/utfregister/frames/introshfsEN.htm EMCDDA outputs - Annual Report and associated Data Library *Annual Report 2003 in the EU http://annualreport.emcdda.eu.int/en/page109-en.html *Annual Report 2003 in the Acceding and Candidate Countries http://candidates.emcdda.eu.int/download/candidates_ar2003-en.pdf *Data Library on Drug-related crime http://annualreport.emcdda.eu.int/en/page091-en.html *Data Library on Drug markets and availability http://annualreport.emcdda.eu.int/en/page092-en.html Main message There are 6 Standard Tables and 2 chapters in the National Reports related to crime and supply issues: they should be consistent, this is very important; but also National Reports should include an analysis of the data from the Standard Table completed by data (standardised or not) from non-routine surveys or information systems - drug-related crime is a good example as only data on drug law offences are routine ones, whereas all other types of data e.g. on crimes committed by drug users are coming from non-routine information systems. The End "); page[29]=new Array("doc2.htm","UK EMCDDA drug indicator consistencies","","John Corkery, BA Hons, MSc, MPhil Honorary Senior Research Fellow Department of Mental Health - Addictive Behaviour St George's Hospital Medical School University of London I have plotted time series for four of the main drug types against 5 key indicators (3 in the case of ecstasy): last year use, number of seizures (UK), number of persons found guilty or cautioned GB/UK), deaths (England and Wales only), and RDMD episodes reported in 6 months September each year (GB), except for 2001 (March). There appears to be some considerable consistency in some of these trends. It should be noted that information for ecstasy is not given in published statistics on reports to the Regional Drug Misuse Databases in England. Detailed statistics are not yet available from the National Drug Treatrment Monitoring System giving breakdowns by drug type. Drug seizure figures for 2002 are not yet available. Drug offender statistics for 2001 and 2002 are not yet available. British crime survey figures for heroin, methadone and to a lesser extent for cocaine and crack have been extrapolated from very low levels and are thus subject to quality issues. "); page[30]=new Array("doc3.htm","What can surveys tell us about the nature and extent of drug use?","","John Corkery, BA Hons, MSc, MPhil Honorary Senior Research Fellow Department of Mental Health - Addictive Behaviour St George's Hospital Medical School University of London Overview Survey data form one of the EMCDDA's key indicators. In this presentation I will outline the range of surveys that can be used at local (e.g. City), regional or national level. This will include general household surveys, school surveys (including ESPAD), surveys of arrestees, recreational drug users, driving and substance use. Methodological issues to be covered will include data collection methods and their limitations e.g. paper questionnaires, telephone surveys, self-completed computer questionnaires; sample sizes, stratification, sampling methods, the need for booster samples (e.g. to look at minority ethnic groups). Generalisability of findings to other populations e.g. problem users, marginalised groups such as school excludees/truants, recreational users, other age groups. Problems associated with using different survey instruments, age groups, user profiles, etc. in different regions and combining results to get a national picture. I will present examples using data from various parts of the UK and other parts of Europe to illustrate the various points being made. Analysis will cover demographics such as age, gender and ethnicity, as well as substances used, frequency of use, association with crime, dependence, changes over time, geographical variations. I will relate these to the reporting needs outlined in existing EMCDDA guidance, and the use of check lists. Introduction A number of topics and associated issues have to be borne in mind or considered when either planning a new survey or examining the results of one that has already been conducted. Population and geographical area to be surveyed Sample frame, sample size, sampling methodology Data collection methods and instruments Information needed Analysis Time-scale(s) Periods between survey sweeps vs. continuous data collection Costs Limitations Because there is no workshop as such for this topic, real examples of some of the points made will be given to enhance comprehension. These be will be mostly drawn from my own experience in the UK over the past 10 years or more. Sources of information Under this heading one needs to consider - What is the purpose(s) of the survey? - What group(s) are we interested in and why? - Do we want to make comparisons with other groups (nationally/internationally)? - Is this a 'one-off' or will it be repeated? - What sort of analysis do we want to undertake, i.e. what types of variable? - Will it provide the information we need to comply with our EMCDDA commitments? The answers to these questions will help to determine what information is sought, in what form and by what methods Geographical area Surveys can be conducted at a number of different levels: - In unique locales e.g. pop festival or night clubs - Local (e.g. City) - Regional (e.g. County) - National (e.g. Community, Country) - International (e.g. ESPAD) The level can be determined by the type of population surveyed e.g. excludees/homeless in a city; general population nationwide The larger the area the more complex and costly the logistics Sampling Sampling frame - Will depend on population to be surveyed - There may be ready-made lists from which to select, e.g. administrative records - electoral roll, school roll, telephone directories, patients attending treatment centres - Where lists don't exist use may have to be made of proxy lists, e.g. clients of shelters for the homeless Sampling method and sample size - Where lists are available, can decide on stratification method to suit the aims of the survey, e.g. ranging from 100% sample (census), to be representative of age, gender, geographical area. - Where some sub-groups are small in number (e.g. minority/hard to reach groups) may have to consider the need for booster samples so that sample sizes are of sufficient size to yield meaningful statistics. - Where there are no lists, then can select every nth person in a given location, or use the snowball approach Data collection methods and instruments These need to be appropriate to the population being surveyed Postal and telephone surveys - Cannot be used for homeless/excludees - But can be used for some recreational users, e.g. Mixmag postal survey of clubbers who read monthly music magazine. Self-selected respondents but can throw light onto a particular type of drug use - How many mail-outs and what constitutes a reasonable response rate? Self-completion pen and paper questionnaires cannot be used for some groups (e.g. illiterate, ethnic minorities) if they cannot read or understand the language the questionnaire is written in Face to face interviews - respondents may want to say what they think the interviewer wants to hear or may hide the truth. Self-completion questionnaires, especially if anonymised and completed using a laptop computer, may get round these issues. Internal validity can be enhanced by the use of urine or saliva testing of respondents to see if what they say matches with the physical evidence. This more practical with smaller numbers e.g. those arrested or in prison, drivers randomly stopped. There are ethical issues about the imposition of collecting samples from people. It is likely to be more acceptable for those coming into contact with the criminal justice system, and in fact may be lawful/mandatory e.g. prisons in the UK. It is less likely to be acceptable in schools, although such suggestions made recently in the UK have been broadly welcomed. Analysis Although published reports on surveys may not present information as is required for the completion of Standard Tables 01 and 02, it may be possible to get the researchers who carried out the analyses to either re-analyse the data using the age groups used in the Standard Tables or to negotiate access to the data and carry new analyses specifically for the National Report. In some cases this will not be possible for all age groups, e.g. the UK general household surveys look at 16-59 year olds whereas the Standard Tables ask for data on 15-64 year olds. The basic analysis for general population surveys must include (for Standard Table 01) percentages for use ever, last year and last 30 days for specific age groups, broken down by gender and type of substance used. For school surveys (Standard Table 02), the same type of information is requested, although for different age groups from 11 to 18. Additional analysis (including cross-tabulations using counts) could cover: - Change over time - Ethnicity - 'Availability', access to substances, offers of substances - Attitudes towards drugs, including health issues, e.g. smoking - Regional differences, type of area - Age of first use, drug careers - Employment; illegal income, connections with offending, - Dependence status, risk behaviour, e.g. injecting, sharing equipment, unprotected sex. Logistic regressions and other correlational methods could be used to identify statistically significant relationships between variables. Estimates of the numbers of people using substances at a national level can be extrapolated from sufficiently large (in terms of sample size and spread) national general population and school surveys. For example, the British Crime Survey. Methodological issues - Surveys, unless they are 100% censuses, cannot tell us about everyone in a population. - Generalisability/external validity will be affected by the type of area surveyed, i.e. the more specialised the sample the more the findings are unique to that setting, population or situation. For example, the results from a school survey of 11-18 year olds may not be applicable to all in that age group - some in upper end of that age group may be in employment (and thus have a disposable income with which to buy drugs) - they can be excluded from School, - they can be absent from school, e.g. truanting, or - they may be homeless and thus exposed to situations that may make them more at risk of certain types of drug taking. - Definitions should be clearly stated. Where there are differences between surveys in definitions these should be explained, and attempts should be made to use one definition across a country, and across different sweeps of the same survey. - External validity can only be increased by using sampling methods that mean that a range of locations and/or situations is sampled. - Is there any evidence of interviewer effect? For example, was the interviewer a government official or someone else 'in authority' whose status could have affected the answers given by respondents? If so, was this effect reduced by the methodology employed e.g. self-completion on a lap-top computer? - Population frame errors. - Non response - Any design effects (clustering, non-proportional designs) Data quality issues Data sources - should be briefly described in the National Report, together with issues regarding definitions, completeness, timeliness of data submission, and any limitations. If there are thought to be any problems with the quality of the data, these should be stated in simple terms, and contacts/references given for further information. Alternatively, technical notes can be included. If it is thought that the data are not robust then this should be stated rather than using misleading information. EMCDDA reporting requirements National Report Chapter 2 relates to drug use in the population It is supposed to be an overview or summary on drug use and attitudes to drugs. It covers: - prevalence (extent) and incidence (new cases) of use - patterns of use - characteristics of users (gender, social characteristics, age at first use) Key topics Drug use in the general population Drug use in the school and youth population Drug use among specific groups - conscripts, minorities, sex workers, etc. Attitudes to drugs and drug users Check list The following need to be included for each of the key topics New developments and trends How these results relate, if at all, to other indicators Placing trends within the wider context of - youth culture; economic, social, cultural & demographic changes, supply, etc. Main results of new research, studies & surveys. [Surveys can also ask about access to/availability of drugs - this is useful for Chapter 10 on Drug markets] There are two Standard Tables required by the EMCDDA: ST 01 - Basic results and methodology of population surveys on drug use ST 02 - Methodology and results of school surveys on drug use Organisation of information For the National Report to the EMCDDA, this should be done in a logical sequence within each of the sections already set out in the guidelines. These are sufficiently general to allow flexibility within them. Other reports for internal national consumption can follow the same layout or be adjusted to take account of national requirements. For each topic the following should be given: - Source of information - What the main findings are for the latest period available, - How they compare with previous years (if such information is available), - Any limitations regarding sample size, quality of data, completeness, etc, - Any other caveats regarding interpretation, - How the findings agree/disagree with other (available) indicators - References for further sources of information/detail A possible structure for Chapter 2 might be as follows: - What surveys have been undertaken and by whom, sample sizes and age range; any other studies - Overview from different sources - Drug use in the general population, including young people; school, children; vulnerable groups - National and local estimates of problem drug use and prevalence rates (per 1,000 population) - Trends in prevalence and incidence - age, gender, main drugs, ethnic groups, - Attitudes to drugs and other substances - Availability of/ access to/ offers of drugs - Overview of figures for year being reported on and comparison with previous year for main drugs of interest - More detailed analysis for each main drug Errors made in presentation & terminology Make sure that the unit of analysis is always given for tables and charts, and the level of counting, e.g., offender vs. offence. State clearly what is meant by terms such as 'access' to drugs and 'availability' of drugs. These are often taken to mean the same thing but can have very different connotations. 'Problem' drug use can relate to different substances according to local patterns of use. For example, benzodiazepines are more of an issue/problem in Scotland and Northern Ireland than in England or Wales. 'Problematic drug users' may just be heroin users in one survey but 'opiate+' in another, or even 'opioids and benzodiazepines' in yet another. Make sure that drug names are correctly spelled, especially unusual ones. Recall periods - Use ever = 'lifetime use' - Use in last 12 months = 'recent use' - Use in last 30 days = 'current use' Further resources EMCDDA http://academy.emcdda.eu.int/reference-documents/key-epi-indicators /gps/self-reported-surveys-report.pdf http://academy.emcdda.eu.int/reitox-academy/madrid-seminar /madrid-gen-pop-survey/madrid-gen-pop-survey-jrosuna.doc http://academy.emcdda.eu.int/reitox-academy/madrid-seminar /madrid-gen-pop-survey/madrid-gen-pop-survey-emq-rbless.ppt http://www.emcdda.eu.int/multimedia/project_reports/situation /population_survey_handbook.pdf http://www.emcdda.eu.int/multimedia/project_reports/situation /druguse_survey_CT00EP14.pdf Further resources and examples UNODC - http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/drug_demand_gap_m-toolkit_module.html Standards for school surveys have been developed by the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe and the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and other Drugs (CAN). "); page[31]=new Array("doc4.htm","DRUG-RELATED MORTALITY: CONCEPTS; MEASUREMENTS AND DATA CAPTURE SYSTEMS","","Adenekan Oyefeso St George's Hospital Medical School (University of London) OBJECTIVES To define the term 'drug-related death' To describe the various categories of DRD To examine various sources of DRD data To explore quantification of DRD To examine various methods of enquiry of DRD To describe the development of data capture systems DEFINITIONS: EMCDDA DRD can refer to deaths directly linked to acute adverse reaction, i.e., overdose. Refer to deaths indirectly associated with drug abuse e.g., suicide, and deaths form natural causes resulting from prolonged drug abuse, AIDS, hepatitis C, etc Addiction (EMCDDA: 2000) DEFINITION: Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) Drug-abuse death refers to death resulting from a drug used for psychic effect, dependence, or suicide, and it encompasses two other categories - - A drug-induced death is one where the death was caused by a specific drug, through overdose. - A drug-related death is one where the medical examiner was convinced that a specific drug was implicated but was not the sole cause (Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN): US Department of Health and Human Services, 2000) DEFINITIONS: World Health Organisation (WHO) Drug abuse-related deaths are fatal consequences of the abuse (non-medical use, misuse) of internationally controlled substances and/or of non-medical use of other substances for psychic effects WHO: CLASSIFICATION Acute intoxication (overdose) Poly-substance abuse and influence of adulterants/additives Poisoning due to accidental exposure Chronic intoxication Suicides Drug-abuse-related accidents Drug abuse-related diseases ICD-10 Selected Death codes Code Description % R99 Unascertained 1.3 X40-X47 Accidental poisoning 76.3 X60 -X67 Intentional self-poisoning 19.4 X70 Intentional hanging 0.6 X71 Intentional drowning 0.07 T71 Asphyxiation 0.4 W71 Accidental drowning 0.1 T07, S09.9 Multiple injury, head injuries 0.4 J18, J18.1, J18.9 Bronchopneumonia, lobar pneumonia, pneumonia 0.2 Other Other natural causes 0.8 CORONERS IN ENGLAND AND WALES:CLASSIFICATION Dependence on drugs Non-dependent abuse of drugs Accident/misadventure Suicide Open/undetermined Homicide National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (np-SAD) A drug-related death case is defined as a death where any of the following criteria are met at an inquest or fatal accident inquiry - One or more psychoactive substances directly implicated in death - History of dependence or abuse of psychoactive drugs; OR - Presence of Controlled Drugs at post mortem SOURCES OF DATA Death certificates Coroners Police sources Pathologists & Toxicologists Treatment programmes The media Research reports General register Specialist register SOURCES OF INACCURACIES IN DRD QUANTIFICATION Death certificates Administration Socio-cultural factors NUMERATOR ERRORS Diagnostic inaccuracies Error in age classification Changes in coding rules Errors and changes in death certification Emergence of new drugs of abuse Emergency of new drug abuse-related conditions DENOMINATOR ERRORS Errors in quantifying the population at risk Errors in demographic distribution METHODS OF INQUIRY Cross-sectional Single cohort studies Multiple cohort studies FOCUS OF STUDIES: ADDICTS POPULATION Mortality among opiate addicts (N = 93,000) A 27-year study of mortality in opiate addicts (Ghodse, Oyefeso & Kilpatrick, 1998) Average age at death = 30.6 (SIQ = 12.5) Crude death rate = 7.7/1000 person years FS: POPULATION OF ADDICTS Non-therapeutic cases were about 20 times more likely to have drugs implicated in their death than therapeutic cases Cases younger than 45 years were 6 times more likely than older cases to have drugs implicated in their death Male addicts are 7 times more likely to die prematurely than the general population male Female addicts are 10 times more likely to die prematurely FS: SPECIFIC CONDITIONS Suicide (Oyefeso et al., 1999) Rates: Male = 69/100,000 person years Female = 44.8/100,000 py 15-24 38.2/100,000 25-34 83.2/100,000 35-54 75.3/100,000 FS: SPECIFIC CONDITIONS Excess risk of suicide Male 3.1 Female 5.5 Methods of suicide Drug overdose 45% Hanging 31% CO poisoning 11% Gunshot 3.5 % Other 9.5% FS: SPECIAL POPULATION Mortality of teenage addicts (Oyefeso et al., 1999) Teenage-specific mortality rates: Male = 1.3/1000 person-years Female = 0.9/1000 person years Excess risk of teenage death = 12.3 (95%CI = 9.6, 15.5) Male 10.7 (95%CI = 8.0, 14.1) Female 21.2 (95% CI = 12.6, 33.5) FS: SPECIAL POPULATION Causes of death Drug overdose 68.6% Suicide 11.4% Complications and Natural causes 20.0% FS: DRUG-SPECIFIC FATALITY Review of deaths related to taking ecstasy, England & Wales, 1997-2000 (N = 81) (Schifano et al, 2002) Gender: Male 81% Female 19% Average age: 27 years (16-50) Employed: 46% Known to services 57% FS: DRUG-SPECIFIC FATALITY Causes of death - Polysubstance poisoning 62% - Only MDMA poisoning 7% - Other 31% Place of death - Private residence 49% - Hospital 31% - Pub or club 2% - Others 17% Day of death - Saturday +Sunday 56% REPORTING PRINCIPLES Specify definitions Define clear categories Ensure validity of data sources and limitations Define type of studies from which data was generated Define scope of enquiry Describe the data capture system DATA CAPTURE SYSTEMS General Registers Specialist registers What is surveillance? ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of outcome-specific health data, closely integrated with the timely dissemination of these data to those responsible for preventing and controlling disease or injury (Thacker & Stroup, 1998). Why is drug-related mortality surveillance necessary? Detect immediate changes e.g. newly emerging drugs responsible for overdose Disseminate findings, bi-annually/annually to facilitate research priority-setting; and estimate magnitude of problem Maintain archival information for noting the pattern of drug-related deaths over time and correlating this with government and local policies/ national clinical practices to evaluate effectiveness Why is drug-related mortality surveillance necessary Monitor geographical location of a reported incident is of equal value Develop risk profiles by obtaining information on the 'person' in terms of their characteristics e.g. gender, ethnicity, history of known substance misuse, prescription history Components of drug-related mortality surveillance Consult widely Establishment of goals/purposes Develop case definitions Select appropriate personnel Develop and/or acquire tools and clearances for collection, analysis, and dissemination Implement the surveillance system Evaluate surveillance activities Establishment of Goal/Purpose The objectives are to Collect and collate data on psychoactive substance-related mortality; Examine trends in these data; Provide relevant commentary on the prevention of substance related deaths whether caused accidentally or intentionally from data analysis; and Ensure that dissemination of such information was concise and prompt. Case definition Review the various definitions of drug-related deaths. Identify your criteria for caseness Review your criteria with experts Pilot the criteria for robustness Publish the criteria for caseness Appropriate Personnel Define key personnel requirements to include the following competencies Clinical competency Epidemiological and biostatistics Database administration and management Networking and collaboration Writing and editorial skills Web publishing Drug abuse policy Acquisition of tools, and clearance for collection, analysis and dissemination Consult with data providers and seek their cooperation Develop and agree data collection tools with data providers Develop a database in a readily accessible electronic format to facilitate understanding further studies of predictors, trends and patterns of drug-related deaths Develop validation codes to minimise error in data entry Establish ethical guidelines on data access, data protection and confidentiality Implementation Inform the data providers of your start date, possibly have a launch Engage policy makers in your programme and seek their support Provide resources to facilitate data providers' compliance Provide prompt and regular feedback to data providers Publish the findings of the surveillance periodically Disseminate your reports widely Evaluation Request regular feedback from data providers Conduct regular internal audits of data capture and coding accuracy Present procedures and findings at conferences, workshops and special forums "); page[32]=new Array("doc5.htm","EMCDDA key indicator : 'HIV and hepatitis B/C in IDUs","","Reitox academy training Lucas Wiessing European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal, Lucas.Wiessing@emcdda.org EMCDDA 5 key indicators of drug use Surveys of drug use in general population Estimates of problem drug use / IDU Data from drug treatment services Drug related deaths and mortality Drug related infectious diseases (hepatitis B/C and HIV in IDUs) Outline of talk Background key indicator Collecting existing data - methods, issues Community wide studies- methods, issues Collecting existing data - results - HIV - Hepatitis B/C Background HIV, hepatitis B/C largest health burden IDUs, IDUs main risk group HIV/HCV Prevalence in IDUs often very high -> cost-effective for policy action (prevention) Hepatitis B/C monitoring not existing at EU level HIV monitoring incomplete but improving Objectives To compare epidemiological situation between countries and regions on HIV, HCV and HBV in drug injectors To give timely insight in new trends and developments, for policy action To serve as an indirect indicator of patterns in drug injecting and risk behaviour Methods Collect existing data on prevalence rates in IDUs (HIV, hepatitis B/C) using standardised data collection form ('standard table') Stimulate seroprevalence studies and screening in routine settings using comparable methods / questionnaire (EU Network established) 1. Using existing data sources as indicators of prevalence Data sources / settings Drug treatment Low-threshold / needle exchanges Prisons (arrests) - Overdose deaths - Public Health Labs - STD clinics -Pregnant women -Hospitals - --- Community studies Notifications Data sources / settings 2 Routine diagnostic data from different settings Prevalence studies in routine settings (treatment, needle exchange, prisons...) EMCDDA data collection 2 Standard reporting tables of aggregated epidemiological data and HR responses Data reported through expert networks and national drug focal points to EMCDDA -> annual report (http://annualreport.emcdda.org/) Yearly EU expert meeting, national meetings Definition and mapping of potential data sources Data from other networks (EuroHIV, Prison Nw) Data collected in standard table Methodological items such as type of data source, def. IDU, serological markers Total sample size, nr valid tests, number positive tests, % HIV positive in IDUs Same data, broken down for age (<25, 25-34, >34), gender, years injected (<2, >=2), opiate use or not Notified cases at European level Depend on testing and/or reporting practices, and little background information, but OK for trends HIV positives: methods development and data collected by EuroHIV; shared with EMCDDA HIV : by year of report, lag 'smoothed' thus masked HIV : outbreaks have been first detected through notifications, (e.g. Finland) possibly good 'early warning system' Hepatitis B/C cases: aggregated data collected by EMCDDA,. some standards development by other networks. Hepatitis B/C : acute cases or also chronic included? Laboratory confirmation required? Breakdown by IDU essential. 2. Community wide studies Community studies - background EU network of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies among IDUs EU consensus questionnaire based on longitudinal studies No funds at present to set up and coordinate comparable EU wide study Joint data analysis from existing studies Study questions Prevalence and incidence of HCV, HBV and HIV in (new) IDUs Use, needs and knowledge of services for IDUs Drug careers, transitions to and from injecting Determinants, risk factors Community studies, issues New injectors or all injectors Saliva or serum samples Sample size and power Sampling technique (snowballing?) Settings (in treatment and outside treatment) Avoiding double interviews (payment) Collaborating with local services Choice and frequency of cities Lab expertise (hepatitis from saliva) Data entry, handling and analysis Back-reporting to local community and press Saliva vs. blood spots Saliva Dried blood spots Use in outreach settings ++ + Acceptability/fear respondent ++ + Acceptability/safety interviewer ++ + Response/participation rates + + Cheapness collection devices *# + ++ Quality HIV test ++ ++ Quality HCV test &# + ++ Quality HBV test *^# +/++ ++ Ease of handling / time in laboratory + ++ Ease of transportation * ++ +/++ Genotyping / subtyping possible . ++ Detection recent HIV/HCV infections +? ++ Results: 1 Existing data collected through 'standard tables' Problems / limitations Data from many ad hoc sources (comparability) Non-injectors not always excluded Self reported test results (esp. HCV!) Some small sample sizes (esp. breakdowns) Sampling/selection procedures not always clear Often local data (but OK to follow trends) Much drug treatment data available, other sources much less Few studies that are repeated (follow trends) Start-up year of SEP's in Spain, France and Italy (PESESUD, CEESCAT 1998) Health care costs of HCV (red), HBV (yellow) and HIV (green) in millions of Euros for ten EU-countries Postma et al. Bull Narc. in press Conclusions More data are becoming available on HIV (and HCV, HBV) infection among IDUs Quality and comparability need to be improved Countries need to strengthen funds and expertise at focal points Fund seroprevalence studies and routine screening of IDUs on HIV, hepatitis B/C "); page[33]=new Array("doc6.htm","Problem Drug Use Indicator","","Estimating the Prevalence of Problem Drug Use at the Local and National Level Problem Drug Use Indicator Gordon Hay - University of Glasgow, UK Ludwig Kraus - IFT Institute für Therapieforschung, Germany Lucas Wiessing - EMCDDA and country experts Introduction EMCDDA Key Indicator Key issues (alcohol) Local prevalence methods National prevalence methods Reporting issues Discussion Presentation Methods - Scientific experts in country / EMCDDA Reporting - Standard tables Interpretation - Workshop on Friday morning EMCDDA 5 Key Indicators Drug use among the general population Problem drug use Drug-related infectious diseases Drug-related deaths and mortality of drug users Demand for drug treatment Problem Drug Use Indicator Two main parts - National prevalence (Ludwig Kraus) - Local prevalence (Gordon Hay) Indirect methods - Estimates of prevalence Derived from research studies Pilot studies on incidence National Prevalence Estimate Comparisons across countries Types of estimate - Problem drug use - Injecting drug use Refers to entire country Uses local estimates Local Prevalence Estimates Types of estimates - Problem drug use - Injecting drug use Local area level - Cities - Regions - Entire nation Documentation Reports from EMCDDA projects - Country / local estimates - Methodological guidelines - Scientific review EMCDDA Scientific Monograph UNODC - GAP Toolkits Scientific papers Exercise - Alcohol use How many people in Lisbon drink? - Street survey - ask 50 people - 30 people say they drink (60%) What would happen if 500 people were asked? Survey carried out at night, in the Bairro Alto - does that matter? What does 'drink alcohol' mean? Sample size - Should not affect estimate - Can improve confidence intervals Representative (unbiased) sample - Area of country - Age, gender etc Case definition - Ever drunk alcohol - Drunk alcohol in last day, month, year Extrapolation Drug use is largely a hidden activity Information can be obtained from a sample of the population This information can be extrapolated to provide information on the entire population Extrapolation Population Surveys A sample of the population is obtained 40% of the sample use cannabis therefore 40% of the population use cannabis Main issues - Sample size - Representative sample - Case definition Extrapolation Information can be obtained from a sample of drug users - Treatment services - HIV data, mortality This information can be extrapolated to provide information on all drug users Prevalence estimates can be obtained Local Prevalence Estimation Multiplier Methods - Mortality Multiplier Method - Nomination methods Capture-recapture methods - Scotland Truncated Poisson model - Luxembourg Multiplier Methods Benchmark figure - Number of drug related deaths - Number of drug users in treatment Multiplier - Derived from specific studies - Taken from previous studies Example - Scottish Data 227 drug users died in 1997 Studies show that approximately 2% of drug users die each year therefore For every 1 death there are 50 drug users 11,350 drug users in Scotland Assumptions - benchmark All drug-related deaths are identified - Overdose (accidental / intentional) - Diseases (endocarditis) All drug-related deaths are reported - National register (ICD-9 codes) Deaths due to HIV or hepatitis Assumptions - multiplier Mortality rate is known - drug users in treatment - impact of methadone Common rate for all drugs - heroin - stimulants - injecting / smoking Other Multipliers Number of drug users in treatment - Methadone - Specific treatment agencies Number of drug-related crimes - possession of drugs HIV data - drug injectors Nomination Methods Identify a sample of drug users Ask them to 'nominate' friends Ask how many are in treatment - 10 friends, two in treatment Derive multiplier - Five drug users for each one in treatment 'Snowball' to find more drug users Choice of initial sample - Treatment agency - Ethnicity / gender Choice of benchmark Time consuming and expensive Useful in specific populations - Small towns - Ethnic groups Capture-recapture methods Simple idea: - Only a proportion of drug users are in contact with treatment agencies Examine the overlap between those in treatment and a second sample (e.g. police) Find the proportion in treatment Thus estimate the total number of drug users Capture-recapture methods Capture-recapture Methods Animal and fish populations - Capture a sample of fish - Mark them - Release them - Recapture a sample at a later date - Look for marks - Estimate population size Example - Fish Unknown number of fish in a lake Unknown number of fish in a lake Catch a sample and mark them Unknown number of fish in a lake Catch a sample and mark them Let them loose Recapture a sample and look for marks Estimate population size n1 = number in first sample 15 n2 = number in second sample 10 n12 = number in both samples 5 N = total population size assume that n1/N = n12/n2 therefore 15/N = 5/10 N = (10 x 15) / 5 = 30 Other Applications Disease registers - Diabetes Hidden populations - Drug users - Sex workers - Homeless people Under counting in census (USA) How many Americans lived in London, 1770-1775 Drug Use Application Drug users - Identify two samples - Police - Treatment agencies - Find overlap - Estimate population size Drug Use Example N Treatment 775 HIV Test Data 46 Police 76 Unique Individuals 855 Overlap (treatment, HIV and Police) ~ 1/3 of police sample in treatment total estimate = 3 x 775 = 2325 Main Assumption Samples are independent - Police do not stand outside agency arresting people - Participation in treatment does not reduce the need to commit crimes Samples are often not independent Three Sample Analysis Statistical Analysis - Requires statistical packages - Log-linear models - Explain relationship between sources Estimate the size of the hidden population Estimate the total population size Overlap (treatment, HIV and Police) Three Sample Analysis Police source independent of other sources HIV and treatment sources related - Known drug users = 855 - Hidden population = 1702 Total population = 2557 95% Confidence Interval= [1974 - 3458] Assumptions Closed population - Drug users do not migrate in or out of the area - People do not start to use drugs during study Correct identification of overlaps Drug users have similar behaviour - Drug users are not 'heterogeneous' Truncated Poisson model Luxembourg treatment data - Single source - treatment register - Method uses three figures - number appearing once in treatment - number appearing twice in treatment - total number in treatment Assumes that number of times in treatment follows a Poisson distribution Truncated Poisson model Truncated Poisson model Hidden population Hidden population Truncated Poisson model National Prevalence Methods used for local estimates - Multiplier method - Capture-recapture method Synthetic estimation Multivariate Indicator Method Synthetic Estimation Extension to the Multiplier Method Benchmark figure (indicator) - Drug users in treatment - Drug-related crime Multipliers - Derived from prevalence estimates in two (or more) cities / regions - Does not assume a common multiplier across areas Example - 'City A' There are 200 drug users in contact with drug treatment agencies A research project estimated that there are 2,000 drug users in the city Therefore - For every one drug user in treatment, there are 10 living in the city Example - 'City B' There are 500 drug users in contact with drug treatment agencies A research project estimated that there are 7,500 drug users in the city Therefore - For every one drug user in treatment, there are 15 living in the city Synthetic Estimation Synthetic Estimation Synthetic Estimation Synthetic Estimation Example City C 400 drug users in treatment approximately 5,600 drug users Town D 50 drug users in treatment can we extrapolate to get an estimate? Synthetic Estimation Need two (or more) anchor points Linear relationship between prevalence and indicator (linear regression) Can be difficult to extrapolate beyond anchor points National prevalence obtained by adding estimates for cities / regions Multivariate Indicator Model Similar to the synthetic estimation method Relation between prevalence and indicators - More than one indicator - Indicators combined into one (or two) factors - Principle components Anchor points - Local prevalence estimates - At least 2 Indicators - Available for entire country - Split by region - Drug-related or social Example - UK Indicators - convictions for drug offences A - seizures of controlled drugs B - drug users in treatment C - drug-related cases of HIV D - drug-related deaths E All available at regional level Anchor points available Regions A B C D E G Northern & Yorkshire 11,356 13,285 9,722 37 344 Trent 6,451 7,010 3,580 67 207 Anglia and Oxford 3,761 4,183 3,762 79 216 North Thames 17,696 21,168 7,842 334 352 44,410 South Thames 13,987 16,530 7,774 122 346 38,140 South West 10,600 12,717 5,890 60 311 West Midlands 7,125 5,398 4,322 26 193 13,130 North West 12,557 11,804 8,958 63 402 Wales 6,110 5,870 2,282 14 139 8,357 Scotland 13,008 13,452 8,614 687 267 38,000 Reporting One of the 5 key indicators Standard tables - National estimates - Local estimates Used more generally to put information in context within national reports Target Populations Problem drug use - injecting drug use or long-duration/regular use of opiates, cocaine and/or amphetamines Current injectors Other definitions Age range 15-64 Estimates Methods used Data sources Central estimates Range or 95% confidence intervals Population aged 15-64 in area / country Reporting Issues Population sizes - Do they match with study areas? Definitions - Age range - Definition of drug use Stratified estimates - Age - Gender - Region Recommendations Convene expert group and discuss methods and data (both data and statistical experts) Try to come up with first estimates, even if they still are of dubious quality! (but don't publish) Discuss quality of estimates, necessary improvements, data needs in expert meetings Try to secure funds for continuous work Try to involve the data owners actively Try to establish a stable national expert group, involving all key players, be inclusive Recommendations Make estimates at national and local levels Local level studies provide data and insights for national estimates Make estimates both in high-prevalence and low prevalence (rural) areas Use different methods Try to get repeated comparable estimates Quality of estimates depends on quality of data! Discussion Points Estimates are derived from research studies - Links with scientific experts / researchers Cost of studies - Different research methods Research issues - Data protection / confidentiality - Peer review Discussion Points Coverage of estimates - Local prevalence estimates - National prevalence estimates Cross - national Comparisons - Different methods - Different Definitions Workshop on Friday morning "); page[34]=new Array("doc7.htm","Public Health & Substance Misuse: An European Perspective","","REITOX Academy Intensive Course Professor Salman Rawaf MD PhD FRCP FFPHM Salman.Rawaf@swlondon.nhs.uk Current European Policies Social Control Reduce Crime Demand Reduction Why does it matter? Dependence itself cause/aggravate co-morbidities - liver - mental health - neurological - ... Linked hazards - HIV; hep B; hep C - overdose Drugs impact on health Accident and emergency - 50% of users attend in 2 years (NTORS) - 25% of all attendances - St T's - 20% of all psychiatric presentations due to D & A - 16% RTA's Others ... O & G Paeds Primary care Mental health GUM General medicine others 3-4/1000 births increasing 1% of list 30% co-morbid high Hep C, HIV The extent of the problem Waves of fashion; but also sea level rising. but also note 120 K die per annum due to smoking 30-40 K alcohol related deaths per year Lifetime experience of drugs - Europe (EMCDDA) 2000 Lifetime and 12-month use of cannabis - U.K. 1994, 1996 & 1998 Last 12-month prevalence of ecstasy and cocaine use in England and Wales (1999) Cocaine and crack Cocaine availability has decreased to be replaced by crack Crack is extracted from cocaine High risk sexual behaviour Violence New Notifications for Heroin Addiction U.K. (1980-1996) Blood-borne diseases: HIV rates among drug injectors in EU countries - EMCDDA (2000)s Able to benefit? - realistic criteria ?Success? Rates for Addictions (Reduction of at least 50% in use after 6 months) Prevention better than Treatment Smoking and Alcohol Relationship Psychological Health and Educational Aspirations No regular use (n=1135) 1 Substance (n=522) 2 Substances (n=223) 3 substances (n=131) Anxiety 3.7 4.0 4.5 5.4 Depression 4.0 4.5 5.4 6.0 Educational aspirations 4.2 4.2 4.1 3.8 Substance = alcohol, tobacco or cannabis * Statistically significant, p<0.001 Anti-social and Criminal Behaviour Substance Use and Conduct Problems Policy Shift Government Expenditure: Estimated L1.4 billion per annum Substance Misuse: Population Segmentation 1. Total population 2. Targeted population at risk 3. Users 4. Problem users 5. Dependant users If you do nothing, do Prevention works Population approaches are effective Enabling everyone Each contact is an opportunity Treatment works, but costly"); page[35]=new Array("doc8.htm","Treatment demand indicator","","REITOX ACADEMY Petra Meier National Drug Evidence Centre University of Manchester, UK The Art of Quality Management If you want to build a house, the foundation needs to be sound or: Rubbish IN ------ Rubbish OUT Data sources Be sure of what data sources are available in your country (a list of possibilities, which may not be complete) and access data from as many sources as you can. Try to influence the expansion of data collection Treatment: Specialist community-based drug services Outreach/street services General Practitioners Residential Rehabilitation Units Day Care Programmes Inpatient detoxification services General Hospitals Psychiatric wards Prisons Criminal justice Prisons Arrests Other National and local population statistics (eg from census) Mortality data Morbidity data Child protection registers Decide on core reporters Invest as much effort as possible to achieve complete coverage for those core reporters Only change data collection mechanisms if you absolutely must (apart from adding questions to form or switching from paper to electronic format) Anonymous or Attributor or Named Data Anonymous data Attributors (eg initials, date of birth, and gender) Fully identifiable (names or Health Service Number etc) Agency Compliance Know your key contacts at agency level Give impression that you are available for them Demonstrate relevance of data to service Involve key stakeholders for serious problems (or get those people who do the data collection for you to do it) Validation Develop a validation routine Check information for same person year on year Current and lifetime injecting/sharing Only one primary drug No missing attributors Reporting National reports for EMCDDA Basic information to include Year Study design Sample design Applied methods Instruments used Size of the study population Age groups covered Response rate (especially, if problematic) Introduction to any reports you produce Background to data collection - Legal framework - Organisational framework - Data collection tool - Method (incl sources and data flow) - Caveats and interpretation guidelines Glossary of terms and data/case definitions - Case definition - Drug use definition - Abbreviations - Dealing with multiple presentations by the same person Contact details Definitional issues Drug use Use, abuse, misuse, dependence, problem use, addiction Opiates Stimulants Overdose Are you using EMCDDA compliant definitions? Treatment service and classification of services Layout issues Table/graph titles, legends & captions clear without having to refer to the text (obviously need to be present!), tell you what is shown, data source, sample size, what area/region is covered How to get people interested Reporting needs to be RELEVANT TIMELY COMPETENT Flexible local data collection for current information needs, stable core data for trends. Timely: Available when needed. Reporting in line with third-party deadlines. Competent: only you have local knowledge. Thus: Provide your audience with interpretation guidance. Who needs what information? Europe: epidemiological core datasets on 5 key indicators Government: National information on health, criminal justice involvement, morbidity. Possibly pinpointing local differences in service provision, user profiles etc Local health & government: Commissioning and policy development, eg Which services/initiatives do we need to develop, for how many people? 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