Sudani issued a number of orders and decisions in various fields, including the war on drugs, during a meeting of the Supreme Coordinating Body for provinces not associated with a region.
He called on all provinces to “provide the health ministry with an integrated plan to establish rehabilitation centers for those addicted to drugs and psychotropic substances, and prepare lands for them, taking into account population density.”
Iraq has limited rehabilitation services and routinely turns to the criminal system to handle the growing number of people with drug addictions.
The prime minister also ordered Iraqi state media to run an awareness campaign about the harmful use of drugs and inform the public of the penalties imposed for drug-related crimes.
He also called for strengthening the technical and executive capabilities of the authorities combating drugs, increasing cooperation between the relevant authorities and the judiciary, as well as tightening checks and procedures at the borders to prevent the drug trade.
There has been an alarming rise in drug use and trade in Iraq in recent years, despite strict measures taken by the government.
Sudani in May claimed that terrorism is often financed by the drug trade and said the security forces will treat the issue as a security and terrorist threat.
Around 15,000 people were arrested on drug related charges in Iraq in 2022 and more than 400 kilograms of narcotics were confiscated, according to the General Directorate of Narcotics Control in Iraq’s Ministry of Interior.
Syria is the main supplier of the illicit captagon pills which began spreading across the Middle East following the Syrian civil war in 2011. Iraq and Saudi Arabia are the main consumers of the substance, according to an AFP report.
