A dialogue session held on the sidelines of the launch of the National Anti-Narcotics Campaign, under the title 'National Upbringing System', shed light on the dimensions of drug trafficking gangs targeting Gulf states — the United Arab Emirates foremost among them — through attempts to undermine their achievements by targeting young people and making them victims of this dangerous scourge.
The session featured calls to expand the reach of treatment and rehabilitation services in the country, increase the number of specialist centres, and explore including addiction treatment under the insurance umbrella, alongside developing awareness content and strengthening the roles of the family and school in protecting the young, treating drugs as a complex national and societal issue that extends beyond security alone to affect youth, families, and the fabric of values.
Participants stressed that building a generation that is aware and capable of rejecting dangerous behaviours is a fundamental pillar in creating a safer and more stable future, noting that the real confrontation begins with upbringing and with equipping students — within schools and families — with life skills, self-confidence, decision-making ability, and the capacity to resist negative pressure.
They affirmed that protecting society from drugs requires an integrated national upbringing system that begins with the family and school, is grounded in continuous societal awareness, clear preventive messages, and treatment and rehabilitation services capable of reaching those who need them — thereby entrenching the state's approach to protecting the individual, safeguarding community security, and preserving family stability.
Dr Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of the Hamdan bin Rashid Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, said that the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf states are being targeted by drug trafficking and smuggling gangs. He cited an incident he had witnessed during his career, when he asked a drug dealer why Gulf states were being targeted, and received the answer that these countries had become targets in order to undermine their successes, and that the path to doing so begins by targeting young people and making them victims of this dangerous scourge.
Brigadier General Dr Abdulrahman Al Maamari, Director of the International Protection Centre at the General Directorate for Drug Control, confirmed that the cost of treating an addiction patient can reach 70,000 dirhams (AED), borne by the state as part of its commitment to protecting the individual and society. He noted that this figure reflects the scale of efforts invested in treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention, as well as the burden this scourge imposes at all levels.
For his part, Dr Mohammed Al Junebi, from the National Rehabilitation Centre in Abu Dhabi, addressed the integrated system adopted by treatment centres across the country as a comprehensive mechanism that begins with assessment and goes beyond treatment alone, extending to understanding the reasons that led the patient to substance use and addressing the social stigma that may hinder people from seeking help or continuing their recovery journey.
Al Junebi affirmed that a patient's presence in a treatment centre is an important step, but more important is understanding why they began using substances — a point that receives considerable focus within treatment and rehabilitation programmes. He noted that understanding motivations and causes helps in formulating a more effective treatment plan and reduces the likelihood of relapse in the future. He also pointed to the need for additional treatment centres, which would help expand the reach of treatment and rehabilitation services.
Dr Abdullah Al Khayyat, Awareness and Prevention Adviser at the National Anti-Narcotics Authority, stressed the importance of merging the efforts of relevant bodies into a single framework to ensure complementary roles and unified awareness and prevention messages. He noted that coordinating efforts among various institutions represents one of the key factors in achieving greater success in confronting drugs and limiting their impact on society.