Expanded social participation helps battle drug addiction

Lu Huizhen, director of Shizishan community in Pingxiang of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has another role that makes her feel a sense of achievement -- leading a team of women to persuade drug users out of addiction.

Women are more patient and caring than men, so are better suited to the work, according to Lu, whose team has helped 11 drug addicts kick the habit since it was established in 2001. Shizishan has also seen no new addicts in that time.

People like Lu are in the spotlight ahead of Tuesday's International Day Against Drug Use and Illicit Trafficking. As Chinese authorities look for wins in the battle against drugs, such programs of education and rehabilitation are increasingly being valued as much as punishment. Her experience and recipe for success is being pored over.

Bordering Vietnam, Lu's hometown of Pingxiang was once notorious for narcotics and related crime. Lu recalls that, in the 1990s, people dared not go out in the evening as they were afraid of being robbed.

At the peak of the problem, the community of about 400 people had more than 30 drug addicts.

"They are no longer in the mood to work once they get addicted. When they run out of money for drugs, they rob. Even local residents' aluminum alloy windows get torn down for money," says Lu.

Born and raised in Shizishan, Lu felt ashamed during its 1990s notoriety as a "drug cave," and she decided to act. The 60-year-old lady explains, "I watched most of the addicts grow up and I cannot let them be corrupted like that."

Eleven years ago, her female correctional team began informing addicts of the harm they were bringing upon themselves and to help them build new lives first through treatment and then employment.

"I tell stories of their childhood to start the conversation and use true emotions to move them and let them know they are ruining themselves," she says.

The one-time "drug cave" has now become a model community. With the help of local government, the female correctional team in 2005 expanded to four other communities and 28 members, including four policewomen. This now forms a key part of Pingxiang's anti-drug campaign.

Facing a spread of narcotics, the Chinese government has been beefing up counter initiatives. According to the country's Annual Report on Drug Control, released in May, 112,400 people were arrested in 101,700 drug-related criminal cases cracked by the country in 2011.

However, after years of fierce battles against drug-related crimes, the government has come to realize narcotics cannot be stamped out only by imposing crackdowns, especially in the border areas.

It's necessary to wage a "people's war" against dealers and mobilize groups through innovative social management, according to Zhang Huande, head of the anti-drug team in Pingxiang and a 10-year veteran of the drug war.

"Anti-drug publicity is as important as crackdowns because a lot of addicts are not aware of the harmfulness of narcotics when they try it for the first time," notes Zhang. "We need to raise awareness, especially among youngsters." ' Besides Pingxiang, attempts to establish community rehab centers for drug control are also under way.

Li Wenjun, associate professor from the Chinese People's Public Security University, said China's Anti-drug Law, which took effect in June 2008, marked a sea change in China's approach to dealing with addiction. Instead of focusing on forced and isolated rehabilitation, as was common, it became more about education, rescue and medical treatment.

"Community has become the most important innovative social channel for drug control," the professor says.

For example, Harmonious Home welcomes drug addicts seeking treatment in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province and a major market for nearby notorious drugs-producing area the Golden Triangle.

At this community rehab center, addicts can have a job with a monthly salary of about 1,000 yuan (157 U.S. dollars) and a low-rent apartment, a set-up designed to give them a feeling of a normal life.

In addition, Harmonious Home is built as an open community and all of its residents can choose to stay or leave.

This sets a good example. It's important to treat addicts with respect and give them hope, in the view of Zhang, who adds, "I hope we can include more people in the anti-drug campaign and create a safer environment for the public."