0 BNN to issue drug-free certification

The National Narcotics Agency’s (BNN) Bali chapter is to impose urine tests and issue narcotics-free certification to government agencies, private agencies and educational institutions alike in its attempt to reduce drug usage on the island. I Gusti Ketut Budhiarta, chairman of Bali BNN, told journalists on Sunday that certificates would only be awarded to agencies and institutions that had passed a series of assessment procedures, including urine tests. “Urine tests will be our initial criterion to discover the drug-use at each agency. 

Our team of experts will conduct random tests on between 10 to 15 percent of the staff,” explained Budhiarta, adding that it was not possible to test all of the agency staff because of BNN’s limited human and financial resources. BNN will assess every agency in its efforts to fight drug use. “BNN staff will hold a series of lectures and discussions on the prevention and monitoring of drug use,” he said. Once an agency has passed the assessment and has shown it has genuine programs in place to prevent drug use, BNN will then deliver a narcotics-free certificate. 

During 2012, BNN has assessed dozens of government and private agencies, as well as institutes of higher learning, across Bali. “Only a very few agencies passed the tests,” Budhiarta said. Citing an example, Budhiartha said that BKD, a provincial civil service agency, was the only one out of 10 government agencies tested that could be granted a narcotics-free certificate. Bali’s transportation agency was one of those that failed. “They failed the urine tests as some of their employees tested positive for consuming drugs,” he said. 

BNN also conducted assessments on 15 private offices, only two of which passed — the Grand Mirage Hotel in Tanjung Benoa and Tiara Dewata supermarket. Dozens of institutes of higher learning in Bali also failed the assessment. Some of those that successfully passed the assessment were STIKES (a nursing college), STIKOM (a computer sciences college), Warmadewa University and the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) Denpasar. Budhiarta, however, remarked that despite the certification, it was possible that the successful agencies and institutes of higher education were not entirely free from drugs as the tests were randomly conducted on only 10 to 15 percent of staff and students. 

“What is more important is their strong commitment to keep their agencies and institutes free from drugs and their commitment to implement drug prevention and monitoring programs within their own communities,” he added. Certificates, he said, would be evaluated every year to ensure that the commitment and programs continued to be properly implemented. “The narcotics-free certification program is just one of BNN’s activities to reduce drug use in Bali, starting with offices, education institutions and the community,” he said. 

The number of drug users in Bali is alarming, with an estimate that 50,533 persons are active consumers. A study conducted by the University of Indonesia’s Public Health Research and Study Center in 2011 revealed that Bali suffered Rp 907 billion (US$93.9 million) in financial losses (around Rp 852 billion in direct loss and Rp 55 billion in indirect loss) because of the misuse of various drugs and narcotics. The direct economic loss was caused by mounting healthcare costs for drug addicts, the purchasing of drugs and the cost of rehabilitation and detoxification therapies. 

The indirect costs were the results of a variety of criminal excesses, incidents and death due to drug use. Gde Made Swardhana, a criminologist at Udayana University in Denpasar, said he was supportive of BNN’s narcotics-free certification. But he also realized that any drug prevention program could only be properly evaluated and measured over the long term. “At least, the narcotics-free certification can serve as a wakeup call across the community on the dangers of consuming narcotics and its dramatic impact on people’s health, their finances and social condition,” Swardhana said. 

People in formal institutions would also more aware that their agencies were not free from drugs. “The imposition of urine tests in government and private offices, with many of them failing to pass the tests, is a strong sign for them to be on top alert,” he said.

source : bali daily