Dubai-based woman fights drug abuse with help from supportive husband
Husband who discovered her addiction approached Hemaya Centre for rehabilitation
Dubai: Dubai Police have helped a woman overcome her addiction to drugs after her husband discovred her problem and sought their assistance.
The woman admitted to her husband that she had become a drug addict six years ago after being introduced to the drugs by a group of girls in a foreign country.
The husband decided to help her and took the initiative to contact the Hemaya International Centre in the General Directorate of Narcotics Control in Dubai Police under the provisions of Article 89 of the UAE Law on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances. The centre studied her case and transferred her for treatment and rehabilitation. The woman expressed regret over her underestimation of the dangers of drug abuse, and willingly cooperated with the rehab team.
Colonel Abdullah Al Khayat, Director of Hemaya International Center, explained that her addiction to drugs and illegal painkillers had begun before her marriage when she travelled as a tourist abroad with friends. Usage of the drugs she got hooked on to was not criminalised in the foreign country she visited.
After her return to the UAE, she continued to use the drugs and became addicted to them, without her family’s knowledge. When she got married and her husband discovered her secret, she admiited to her problem and he chose to take her to Hemaya International Centre.
Col. Al Khayat said abandoning a drug user is a grave mistake.
He commended the husband’s efforts in discovering his wife’s addiction and seeking help from the centre, instead of resorting to divorce or reprimanding her and her family, which would have destroyed her and ruined any chances of her returning to normal life.
He said the Hemaya International Centre provides social counselling service free of charge, within a framework of confidentiality and privacy, for families who need advice, guidance and direction, with regard to the abuse of narcotic substances and psychotropic substances and how to deal with and rescue an addicted patient.
He also explained the importance of the role of parents in raising awareness about drug abuse among children, especially since some of them may be forced into the situation, due to study, work or other pressures. Also, they must be made aware that non-criminalisation of drugs in some countries does not take away from the dangers of drug abuse, as drugs affect the body and mind with serious implications.
He said children must not rush to take depression medications and sedatives to escape from the pressures of life, but rather seek professional help to deal with the challenges.