In the middle of this year, Iraq is set to host an international conference to combat drugs

INA-  Baghdad


Proposals to amend the Anti-Drug Law were disclosed by the Parliamentary Committee on Combating Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, and the Anti-Drug Directorate declared that Iraq would be hosting an international conference to combat drugs in the middle of this year.  

"Drugs are an international threat, not a local one, as it attacks all countries," said Adnan Al-Juhaishi, the head of the Parliamentary Committee to Combat Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, on a television show which is picked up by the Iraqi news agency (INA). "Drugs are like undercover terrorism," he added. "The countries of the world must join hands with each other to fight this plague by activating international treaties and protocols among them."

 
"250 international drug traffickers have been arrested," he stated.
 
  He went on to say, "The judicial and security authorities demand the amendment of Law No. 50 of 2017," indicating that "the parliamentary committee has identified a number of recommendations to amend the law, including upgrading the Anti-Drug Directorate and there are opinions to turn it into an independent agency, in addition to tightening penalties on the accused."

The media "plays an important role in supporting anti-drug efforts," he noted.  
 
For his part, Brigadier General Mohammed Hamed, Assistant Director of Drug Control, stated that "there is close cooperation with neighboring and regional countries and there are memoranda of cooperation concluded under the supervision of the Minister of Interior" regarding the program. He also mentioned that "a conference to combat drugs in Iraq under the supervision of the Minister of Interior will be held in the middle of this year."
 
 He stated that "the Anti-Drug Directorate thwarted an attempt to manufacture a machine for the manufacture of Captagon," adding that "there is no drug industry in Iraq, where there were attempts and were seized."