25.06.2010
Research and education is more beneficial than the war on drugs
In 1987, the United Nations declared 26 June as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The war on drugs using repression and a purely abstinence-oriented approach in treatment has a low efficiency and very high costs in the long term – the results of foreign studies show, and the correspondence of drug policies in the EU confirms, that those strategies giving at least equal importance to harm reduction lead to the lowest harm for society. Incongruity among the policies and research results from the area of drug policies can be solved only by sufficient interconnection of research and practice. In 2010, the Centre for Addictology is opening a new master’s degree programme concentrating on scientific and research work in the field of addictology that will educate future experts implementing drug policies.
The Centre for Addictology is a long-term supporter of a balanced drug policy of "four pillars" (prevention, regulation, treatment, and harm/risk reduction) backed up by research that educates professionals to work in the field. Since 2005, more than 100 addictology experts have graduated from the Centre at the 1st Medical Faculty of Charles University with bachelor’s degrees. The graduates have the status of non-medical professionals in healthcare and provide specialised care to drug users.
The Centre for Addictology is developing cooperation with foreign universities and thus offers its students the opportunity to acquire experience in an international environment. Among the partner universities are, for example, University College in Ghent or IB University in Georgia, which is planning to use Czech addictology know-how in its university education programme.
The master’s degree in addictology mainly provides a deeper theoretical knowledge of the field and will guide the students to independent professional work. The master’s degree in addictology is a degree in public health, and the courses concentrate on addictive substances and behaviours and offer an environment of national and international research projects, where the students get the opportunity to cooperate with top experts in the field of addiction.
The Centre for Addictology implements scientific studies on the current drug scene, such as the assessment of the impacts of the new Criminal Code on the market with and consumption of marijuana, coordinates the implementation of national prevention projects, is preparing a novel counselling project for people addicted to the internet, participates in advisory groups on drug policies, and cooperates in organising many expert conferences. The students thus have the opportunity to get actively involved in the field while they are still studying and then continue directly with their professional career.
In terms of its approach the Czech Republic ranks among those countries in favour of a balanced approach to drugs and pragmatic dialogue in this area. The Centre for Addictology aims for rational solutions for drug issues by its expert work and educational activities. To celebrate the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficiking set by the UN more than 20 years ago to mark the objective of a “fight” for a drug-free society, the Centre of Addictology will peacefully open its doors for new students of the master’s degree in addictology with the objective of helping, not fighting.
Contact us for more information.
Ing. Mgr. Vendula Belackova
PR manager
email: belackova@adiktologie.cz
tel: +420 224 965 097
mob: +420 721 818 692
Doc. Michal Miovský, PhD.
vedoucí Centra adiktologie
email: mmiovsky@adiktologie.cz
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