Struggling against substance abuse is a long-term and hard work, so it is carried out with great efforts, costs and institutional collaborations all over the world. However, the results are inadequate compared to the rate of substance use. Because of inadequate capacity, rules of procedure and coordination in Turkiye, the resources reserved for the struggle against substance abuse can not be used efficiently and rehabilitation and treatment works can not reach desired results.
The statistics in annual Turkiye Drug Reports published by Turkiye Monitoring Center for Substance and Substance Abuse (TUBIM), Turkiye Ministry of Health and Turkiye General Directorate of Security show a very pessimistic course of events. On average, 43,2% of substance abusers in Turkiye live in Istanbul. According to TUBIM data, the most common use in all addictive substances is in Istanbul. The foreseen number of problematic opium users in 2011 in Istanbul was 25.000. At present, the registered substance addictions foreseen in Istanbul are over 100.000 people. The abuser number between 0-29 years is over 52.500 people.
In line with the Prime Ministry Circular on Struggling against Substances, which was published in 2015, Substance Control Councils consisting of 8 ministries were established under the presidency of the Deputy Prime Minister. These boards have not been able to obtain efficient results due to legislative, operational and process discipline on the rehabilitation work of dependent individuals who are among the duties and responsibilities of these 8 ministries.
Due to the limited public service provision for substance abuse, non-governmental organizations have begun to produce opportunistic solutions in our country. However, these solutions are not subject to certain legislation, working procedures and standards, quality standards or supervision.
Within these conditions, it has been decided to carry out a project to be in pilot region Istanbul for substance abuse within the scope of our struggle with non-communicable chronic diseases and risk factors. The project, which was decided to start in partnership with our Association, Family and Social Policies Istanbul Provincial Directorate and Istanbul University Health Sciences Department and with Istanbul Public Hospitals Association Fatih General Secretariat leadership, aims to improve social peace and security through the improvement and development of health services and to raise the quality of life in Istanbul.
Nowadays, the biggest problem of our people living in Istanbul, the metropolis which has a very busy and mixed population is the peace and security. This project aims to increase the quality and capacity of health services by providing a holistic and innovative approach to a cause of crime and violence because of substance abuse.
Türkiye Uyuşturucu ve Uyuşturucu Bağımlılığı İzleme Merkezi (TUBİM), EMCDDA 2013 the national report , Ankara, 2013. http://www.sck.gov.tr/oecd/2013%20T%C3%BCrkiye%20Uyu%C5%9Fturucu%20Raporu.pdf ( Access Date : 7 February 2016)