Rehab for addicts
NARCONON or narcotics anonymous is the rehab program facilitated by the Foundation for a Drug Free World — a non-proƝt organisation that is working with Government to address Fiji’s drug problem.
This week, The Fiji Times sat down with Drug Free World ambassador Jessica Brown who candidly spoke about the program which she said has a 98 per cent success rate of turning people away from drugs.
The foundation which operates out of Los Angeles, California, has opened Drug Free chapters across the world including Fiji.
Ms Brown said with an aggressive awareness campaign that target children and a rehab program such as Narconon, the impact of drugs could be reduced.
“Narconon is a very exact method on the rehabilitation. It is a program,” Ms Brown said.
“You Ɲrst of all have to do the withdrawal program which is quite a process in itself and there is a lot of protocol associated with that because the withdrawal can be quite horriƝc for them.
“We have developed a method that has the least quantity of horribleness for them.
“We have vitamins and nutrition as part of the withdrawals process.
“Vitamin B is one of the vitamins that is lost when you take drugs so we replace that and there has been a lot of scientiƝc research done into exactly what is going to work on each individual body as well.”
She said following the withdrawal aspect of the rehab, patients will then be taken through the next phase designed to identify the reason people start taking drugs.
“Then we go into why you Ɲrst started drugs.
“We will Ɲx that past and then we will look at the future.
“We will help you create a future for you. What are your dreams and goals and ambitions and what we need to do to bring you towards those dreams.”
Ms Brown explained the extensive program tackled each aspect of a patient’s rehab journey.
“It is quite an extensive program that really tackles every aspect of it which means handling the physical withdrawal, Ɲnding out how they got onto it and then building a future for them as well.
“Often programs will just deal with the withdrawals and then send them off on their way.
“By doing that you have not exactly handled what go them started on drugs in the Ɲrst place.
“So, you need to identify their triggers. This program does that.”
The Drug Free ambassador said with Fiji’s unique community landscape steeped in religion and culture, each sector would also play a part in a patient’s recovery.
“There have been huge successes throughout different places where culture is also introduced into the program as well like Colombia and the Philippines which I think is a very important part of the rehab process.
“This encompasses the villages, religion and the family. All of those principles need to be put back in and 100 per cent should be part of it.”
PaciƝc Conference of Churches secretary Simi Tugi said religion was an important voice in the Ɲght against drugs in Fiji.
“We stand on a three-legged stool in Fiji which is the State, the vanua and the church,” said Mr Tugi.
“So having the churches and the vanua in the rehab process will be very important.
“When they leave the rehab facility, they will go back to their homes and their vanua so that environment needs to be accepting and needs to play its part in helping them in their rehab.”
Ms Brown recommended that all stakeholders would have to ensure that an effective program was in place to help Fijians recover from addiction.
“You have to look at it from a logical point of view.
“Some rehab programs get you to take pharmaceutical drugs in place of the illegal drugs. What is going to Ɲx the individual.
“My advice is you have to look at the program’s curriculum to make sure that it actually works as opposed to just doing a program because it was available.”
For more information on the Foundation for a Drug Free World International please visit drugfreeworld.org.
Drug Free World ambassador Jessica Brown stresses a point during her interview with The Fiji Times this week. Picture: REPEKA NASIKO