Opening of detox centre-Drug users tricked |24 May 2005

They have then been shocked to learn that the drugs they’ve been using contain very potent substances of abuse which they never intended to even try.

The chairperson of the Centre Mont Royale for the rehabilitation of alcohol and drug abusers Sarah Rene said this Monday May 23 when she opened a new detoxification unit at the centre.

“The whole face of drug use in Seychelles has changed. A lot of drugs coming from abroad, for example hashish, come laced with hard drugs like heroin, cocaine or PCP.

“Clients come to this centre saying ‘I am on hashish but I don’t understand what I am going through.’ And when they are tested, they are found to have the hard drugs in their blood. Their bodies have a cocktail of drugs in them,” she said.

Experts present at the ceremony said that drug dealers are lacing the simpler drugs to get the people hooked on the more dangerous drugs and to create a new market for the more harmful substances.

“The suppliers make the users crave for their drugs saying it gives them a bigger kick, before they realise the danger they have been put into,” they said.

Mrs Rene went on to say that substance abuse has increased in the country, and that while people are normally pleased to open institutions, she was sad to be opening a detoxification centre.

“We never had one before because we did not need one, but now we have it because it has become necessary,” she said.

Naming repercussions to the society of substance abuse like increased crime and violence, Mrs Rene said it is becoming all the more important for efforts to continue to help prevent substance abuse and urged families to help those affected to seek treatment.

She said the danger and rising rate of abuse underscore the work being done by organisations like the Committee for the Awareness and Education against drug and alcohol abuse (CARE).

She thanked Island Construction and Laxmanbhai & Company (Seychelles) who worked to put up the new centre which has eight new specially-built rooms which they also furnished, free of charge.

She presented representatives of the two construction companies with bouquets of flowers as tokens of appreciation.

She also thanked the Ministry of Health and Social Services which she said provided the necessary consultancy given the medical nature of work that will be carried out in the new centre.

The chairperson said that Centre Mont Royale has five years experience in helping clients with substance abuse problems, and expressed confidence that work to help the new kinds of clients will be successful.

She thanked staff at Victoria Hospital and Mont Royale for the assistance they had already rendered, and the extra dedication they are due to put in.

Senior counsellor Robert Moumou said that the new unit is very important because during the detoxification process, clients go through physical and medical changes which require monitoring and special care.

“Some become violent, hence we needed the newly-installed burglar proof bars, and many vomit and diarrhoea, so we needed the toilets and bathrooms attached to the new sleeping quarters,” he said, adding that recently, 10 cases of people who mistakenly thought they were only on hashish were detected.

He said patients going through detoxification were being taken care of inside the psychiatric unit of Victoria Hospital, and many others were therefore reluctant to go through the process there for fear of being thought to be insane.