Filenews 14 February 2025 - by Marilena Panayi
The Cyprus Addictions Authority is ready to proceed with the procedures for the commencement of the daily drug program within the Central Prisons, which, as reported yesterday to the parliamentary committee on Health, has already identified the building in which the program will operate and is waiting for the green light for the remodelling of the space.
According to the President and representatives of the Authority who participated in the meeting, according to the planning the redevelopment of the premises was supposed to start at the end of 2024. However, because work on Ward 11 was in progress at the Prison at that time, the project was slightly postponed and now the procedures for its implementation are expected to be promoted.
The program will be daily, will include various activities and will be able to cover, daily, about 80 prisoners.
According to the Authority's data, previous surveys have found that about half of the prisoners in prisons, before their conviction, had used drugs. At the same time, it was pointed out that the prevention program that will be implemented for prisoners in prisons will differ from the programs implemented and concern the general population.
The Health Committee, which discussed the Authority's budget for the year 2025, was also informed about the picture presented by Cyprus in relation to the use of drugs and especially cannabis, which, as it is found, is still the predominant substance of use in the general population.
Specifically, and according to data provided yesterday, out of a total of 1500 people who had sought help for rehabilitation in 2023, 65 were children, while an increase is observed in cannabis use among young adults and mainly people belonging to the age group of 19-25 years.
At the same time, cannabis use has generally increased in the Cypriot population. For adults, from 14% in the previous survey, the percentage has now risen to 18%, while for students, 8% has risen to 9%.
Of course, as noted, cannabis use in Cyprus is at levels much lower than the EU average. An increase is also recorded in the use of stimulants and cocaine in all Districts.
