A Fifty-Year Challenge in Managing Drug Addiction in Malaysia

Improvement of quality of life following 6 months of methadone maintenance therapy in Malaysia

“…The high prevalence of male Malay opioid abusers in MMT programme is similar to findings in other studies and reports in Malaysia [9,12,22,23]. It is a reflection of the national data, where the prevalence of Malay drug abusers up to December 2009 was 87.09% [24].…”

“…In Malaysia, substance abuse has been around since pre-independence era and in 1980s, heroin abuse was considered as a national threat [9,10]. Previous rehabilitation programmes for drug addicts were yielding little success, and because of that, MMT programme was introduced in 2005 as part of the harm reduction programme [9,11].…”

“…Previous rehabilitation programmes for drug addicts were yielding little success, and because of that, MMT programme was introduced in 2005 as part of the harm reduction programme [9,11]. Higher level of compliance was found in MMT programme in comparison to previous rehabilitation therapies [9,12]. Even though MMT is relatively new in Malaysia, the positive outcome showed so far has encouraged the government to launch more harm reduction centres throughout the country [11].…”

Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among juvenile offenders in Malaysian prisons and association with socio-demographic and personal factors

“…The study did not go into detail with regards to drug taking behaviour of the detainees as this was beyond the scope of the study. Currently, the number of drug users in the country is estimated to be at 250,000 and the number is predicted to reach 500,000 by 2015 (Rusdi et al, 2008). A great concern in Malaysia is that most cases of drug abuse involve young people in their productive years (Rusdi et al, 2008).…”

Treating heroin addiction: Bridging the past and future – a Malaysian experience

“…In the early 20th century, the main drug of abuse was opium, which was primarily restricted to Chinese and Indian immigrant laborers who were introduced by British colonialists to work in Malaya (Noorzurani et al ., ). However, the pattern of consumption changed in the 1970s when heroin became the abused substance of choice and Malays were the main ethnic group involved in heroin abuse compared to other ethnic groups, namely the Chinese and Indians (Noorzurani et al ., ; Rusdi et al ., ). By the 1980s, heroin use among Malaysian youth reached national crisis proportions (Navaratnam, ; Chawarski et al ., ).…”