It would be wrong for society to abandon drug users seeking help, said Yunus Pathi, founder and president of the Pengasih rehabilitation centre.

Adeeba recently released the findings of a study she carried out in collaboration with researchers from several institutions. She said it was found that more than half of those released from the Puspen detention centres went back to drugs within 31 days while those from Cure and Care centres relapsed after 352 days. Both Puspen and Cure and Care centres are run by the National Anti-Drug Agency.

Adeeba recommended the closure of the centres because of the high relapse rate.

Yunus noted the existence of United Nations charter that advocates the establishment of rehabilitation centres in every country in the world.

He told FMT that Pengasih would “never shut its doors or give up” on drug users seeking help.

“No way should we give up on them,” he said. “Who knows, they may return to society as a whole new person when they finally kick the habit.”

He said relapses were “part of the process of recovery” and were usually due to lack of moral support from family and the rest of society.

“Society has high expectations of them when it comes to recovery. But be reminded, it is not easy for them to maintain a drug-free life.”

Criminologist P Sundramoorthy told FMT that drug users should not be penalised under the Dangerous Drugs Act.

“Drug abuse should be treated as a health issue and addicts should be given counselling to curb their problems,” he said.

Criminalising drug abuse would not resolve the problem, he added.

“Until we make the bold move to categorise drug abuse as a health problem, we cannot help the addicts.”