ASEAN to focus on jobs for addicts
ASEAN will deal with the narcotics problem by focusing more on healthcare and jobs for drug addicts as part of the bloc’s 10-year anti-drug action plan, says Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya. He was speaking on August 24 as he chaired the 37th meeting of ASEAN senior officials on drug matters in Bangkok. The 10 countries of the ASEAN grouping, the ASEAN secretariat, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes and the US Drug Enforcement Administration attended. They discussed how ASEAN countries have been tackling the drugs problem and discuss the region’s new anti-drug plan for 2016 to 2025. Gen Paiboon said the plan is not moving in the direction where narcotics will be wiped out, but instead aims to ensure they cannot pose a problem for member countries.
