Representatives of the City of Brno have approved a new municipal policy strategy to deal with drugs and drug addiction for the period 2022–2025. The action plan will focus not only on users of addictive legal and illegal substances, but also on their social environment. Photo Credit: Freepik / Illustrative Photo.
Brno, Sep 8 (BD) – Representatives of the City of Brno approved a new municipal policy strategy covering the area of drugs and drug addiction for the period 2022–2025, as well as an action plan for the years 2022–2023.
The aim of the professional consultations conducted in the preparation of the plan was to map the drug situation in Brno and propose tools for addressing addiction issues in the coming years.
Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková (ODS) described the policy strategy as a preventive document that defines further steps to mitigate the effects of addiction, both on the drug users themselves and on their immediate surroundings and society as a whole. She added that the city will continue with an integrated strategy, which includes addiction to legal substances and non-substance addiction such as gambling, as well as illegal substances.
The documents will serve as a blueprint for the City’s efforts to reduce risks and stigma for people with addictive behavior.
The city coordination team for drugs and addictions collaborated on the documents, which includes the input of professionals such as the anti-drug coordinator from the City’s Department of Social Care. Experts say that cooperation between all types of services and assistance is key to a functioning drug policy for the city. This would require assembling staff in a multidisciplinary addiction team that could coordinate the activities of other service providers, and work with other centers and providers of drug services in Brno. These teams should be linked to the information and crisis lines.
The objectives of the new policy documents concern not only users of addictive substances, but also their social environment, and include prevention programs aimed at raising awareness among children, young people, and the general public about the risks associated with addiction.
“The range of services and facilities helping dependent people is divided between health care facilities and non-profit organizations,” said Robert Kerndl (ODS), Deputy Mayor for Social Affairs. “They provide residential, outpatient, and field services for a wide range of clients. One of the key principles of Brno’s drug policy is the protection of public health and the reduction of health and social risks for users. In the future, we want to develop peer mentoring programs where people with their own experience of addiction support the recovery of other clients.”
