The first substitution therapy office for drug addiction in the Vitebsk region is planned to be opened in Polotsk

February 24, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. A drug addiction substitution therapy office is planned to be opened by mid-2011 in Polotsk. This was announced today at a press conference by Elena Martynova, chief physician of the Vitebsk Regional Psychoneurological Dispensary, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. The project is being implemented on the basis of the Polotsk psychiatric hospital with funds from a grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Belarus. Currently, the premises are being renovated, and the issue of its equipment is being resolved, with the opening of the office planned for mid-year. Initially, 50 patients will participate in the substitution therapy program. "The opening of the region's first substitution therapy office in Polotsk is due to the availability of the appropriate base there and is not conditioned by the number of drug users," noted Elena Martynova. At the same time, she did not rule out the possibility of opening a similar office in Vitebsk in the future. The drug addiction substitution therapy method has been used in Belarus for about three years for patients who suffer from drug addiction and have unsuccessfully tried other methods of treatment. The essence of the method is that the craving for opioid drugs is suppressed by prescribing a medicinal preparation (in this case, methadone), which, when taken in syrup form, does not cause euphoria, relieves withdrawal symptoms, and brings the patient to a normal physical and psychological state. According to data from the beginning of 2011, in the Vitebsk region, more than 1.2 thousand people using psychoactive substances were registered with narcologists, of whom almost 75% use drugs, and the remaining 25% consume toxic substances. Drug use is most widespread in Vitebsk, Orsha, Polotsk and Novopolotsk, as well as in the Orshansky, Tolochinsky, Chashniksky, Gorodoksky and Vitebsky districts. The majority of drug users in the region (81.3%) are still young people under 35 years of age. Therefore, the main efforts of preventive work by narcologists are focused on this age group. "Our main task is to convince people that the disease can and should be brought under control with the help of medical procedures and rehabilitation measures," noted Elena Martynova. For example, during the republican campaign "Drug addiction treatment is available!", which will take place on March 1, "hotlines" will be organized in the region to provide medical assistance to persons suffering from drug addiction and consuming drugs, and other information and preventive measures will be carried out. -0-