Joint Circular No. 31/1999/TTLT/BLDTBXH-BYT guiding the detoxification process, health recovery, and personality rehabilitation for drug addicts.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for detoxification,

 rehabilitation of health and personality for drug addicts

_________________________

Pursuant to Resolution No. 06/CP dated January 29, 1993 of the Government on strengthening guidance for drug prevention and control work;

Pursuant to Decision No. 139/TTg dated July 31, 1998 of the Prime Minister approving the Action Plan for Drug Prevention and Control for the period 1998-2000;

In order for detoxification, rehabilitation of health and personality of drug addicts to be effective, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health issue the following guidelines: Social The Ministry of Health guides as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Detoxification, rehabilitation of health and personality for drug addicts includes medical, psychological, and social activities. After being detoxified and rehabilitated, drug addicts will not use drugs again and will integrate back into society. The detoxification process is divided into five stages as follows:

Reception and classification;

Treatment to withdraw symptoms and detoxify;

Education to restore behavior and personality;

Therapeutic labor, preparation for reintegration into society, and prevention of relapse;

Long-term management based on community support.

第二条 组织和实施奖励工作的支出水平，如政府第152/2025/NĐ-CP号决定关于分级授权和奖励领域的分权规定

Medical facilities are established according to Decree No. 20/CP dated April 13, 1996 of the Government.

State healthcare facilities have the function of detoxifying drug addicts.

Drug addict.

3. The Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall take the lead in coordinating with health agencies, police, and related agencies to advise People's Committees at all levels to develop plans and organize the implementation of detoxification, rehabilitation of health and personality of drug addicts in each stage effectively.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

A. DETOXIFICATION AND REHABILITATION OF HEALTH AND PERSONALITY FOR DRUG ADDICTS AT MEDICAL FACILITIES ESTABLISHED UNDER DECREE NO. 20/CP

Pursuant to Decree No. 20/CP, the detoxification and rehabilitation of health and personality for drug addicts at medical facilities shall be carried out through the following five stages:

1. Reception and classification:

1.1. Counseling for drug addicts and their families about detoxification methods; the role and responsibility of families to encourage their relatives to be ready for detoxification.

1.2. Creating medical records: Initial health check-ups and procedures must be conducted as for patients admitted to hospitals (according to the medical record format).

1.3. Inspecting personal belongings and excluding all types of drugs including addictive substances (if present).

1.4. Testing patients to detect drug substances and other tests as prescribed by doctors.

1.5. Guiding the implementation of regulations and internal rules of the medical facility, requiring drug addicts and their families to commit to complying with these regulations.

1.6. Based on information from the medical records, test results, and other relevant data, staff will classify individuals according to the severity of addiction, type of drug used, health status, etc., and arrange them into appropriate treatment areas and develop suitable treatment plans for each individual.

2. Treatment to withdraw symptoms and detoxify:

2.1. Applying the correct herbal remedies and protocols issued by the Ministry of Health.

2.2. Implementing psychological and physical therapy measures to help reduce anxiety and alleviate withdrawal symptoms.

2.3. During the treatment phase, strict adherence to the Ministry of Health’s regulations on detoxification and withdrawal is required.

The detoxification and withdrawal treatment phase lasts from 10 to 20 days. After this period, testing is conducted; if the test result is negative, the next phase begins, but if it is positive, continued treatment is necessary.

3. Education and restoration of behavior and personality:

3.1. Conducting group psychological therapy to comprehensively restore the personality, health, and mental state of drug addicts, such as morning meetings, seminars on moral topics, responsibilities towards family and society. Activities should be diverse, reflecting the collective love for individuals and the responsibility of individuals towards the collective like a family.

Simultaneously, through educational group activities, drug addicts will recognize their wrongdoings clearly. Organizing study sessions on laws, ethics, conduct, healthy lifestyles, responsibility, and self-confidence. Other psychological therapy methods such as "meditation" can also be employed.

3.2. Group psychological therapy: Organizing drug addicts into groups based on similar circumstances or progress. Within the group, individuals can express their concerns, anxieties, and seek shared solutions and corrections for mistakes, eliminating feelings of isolation and shame. Through group activities, mutual respect, openness, and joy among members are promoted.

These activities must be maintained regularly (daily, weekly, monthly).

3.3. Individual psychological therapy: Providing counseling for each drug addict, listening to their thoughts and worries about illness and family issues. From this, advice is given to help them correct current mistakes and guide them correctly for the future.

Labor therapy: Organizing drug addicts to participate in daily labor activities such as cleaning, cooking, planting, etc., to help them understand the value of labor.

Organizing sports and entertainment activities: Medical facilities must organize drug addicts to participate in sports and entertainment activities such as football, basketball, cultural performances, watching TV, etc.

These therapeutic activities are repeated daily, alternating with labor therapy, maintained daily from 6 am to 10 pm.

4. Therapeutic labor, preparation for reintegration into society, and prevention of relapse:

4.1. Therapeutic labor:

The allocation of labor must be appropriate to the age, health, gender, education level, and profession of each individual, in accordance with Decree No. 20/CP dated April 13, 1996 of the Government.

Organizing and managing labor reasonably, starting from light to heavy tasks, simple to complex, ensuring safe working conditions.

4.2. Vocational training and job creation:

Depending on infrastructure, budget, and needs, medical facilities may offer vocational training and job placement services for drug addicts, or refer them to Job Promotion Centers for training; particularly focusing on traditional and simple trades that can be practiced at the medical facility.

4.3. Preparation for reintegration into society:

Rechecking health, summarizing medical records, and establishing follow-up records after detoxification.

The handover record for drug addicts returning to the community shall include the following basic contents: health condition, personality, psychological state.

The education and behavior rehabilitation phase, as well as the personality rehabilitation phase, must be interwoven with the labor therapy phase. During the working day (8 hours), 30% of the time should be allocated to education and behavior rehabilitation, while 70% should be dedicated to labor therapy. Strictly prohibit any detoxification facility from solely utilizing drug addicts for labor therapy without implementing educational and personality rehabilitation programs.

The duration of the two phases shall range from 12 to 18 months.

5. Long-term management based on the community: This is the stage where drug addicts leave the treatment facility to return to their families and localities. The treatment facility must advise (directly or indirectly through written materials) the local authorities and families to prepare and commit to welcoming and reintegrating drug addicts back into the community after their treatment period.

5.1. Family:

Commitment to fully fulfill family responsibilities towards the addict such as not feeling ashamed of the addict's past, showing love, closeness, and assistance.

Pay attention to monitoring daily living habits, friendships, and personality traits to implement measures that help prevent relapse into drug use, encourage positive behaviors.

Create necessary conditions, both material and spiritual, for the addict to find employment, learn a trade, participate in cultural and sports activities...

5.2. Local Authorities:

Administrative management: temporary absence, temporary residence, the People's Committee of the commune shall maintain a record of the movement of the addict.

Monthly, the commune authority shall assess changes in the addict's personality and behavior, promptly preventing any actions that may lead to a relapse into drug use.

Coordinate with families, economic and social organizations in the locality to support loans, alleviate poverty for the addict and their family.

Organize social activities such as cultural and sports events or other social work to attract the addict's participation.

B. DETOXIFICATION AND REHABILITATION OF DRUG ADDICTS' HEALTH AND PERSONALITY IN THE COMMUNITY

Concept:

Detoxification and rehabilitation of drug addicts' health and personality in the community includes medical, psychological, and social activities conducted at the commune or ward where the drug addict resides.

Content:

Community-based detoxification and rehabilitation is the responsibility of local authorities at all levels. The Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs shall coordinate with the Department of Health, the Public Security Department, and related agencies to develop a plan for detoxification and rehabilitation of drug addicts in the community to be submitted to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for approval. After the plan is approved, the implementation of community-based detoxification and rehabilitation for drug addicts shall follow the procedures below:

1. Classification of drug addicts.

Before organizing detoxification and rehabilitation in the community, the commune or ward authority must conduct a detailed investigation and classification of drug addicts to apply appropriate detoxification methods.

Community-based detoxification and rehabilitation can only be applied to individuals who have recently started using drugs, have a mild level of dependence, and whose personalities and behaviors have not changed (no criminal offenses committed), and who voluntarily agree to undergo treatment, with continuous supervision and care from their families and support from the community.

2. Detoxification and withdrawal treatment phase.

This phase is organized locally under the direct guidance of the local authority. The health agency advises the local authority to coordinate with relevant departments such as Public Security, Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs to provide detoxification and withdrawal treatment for drug addicts. The detoxification treatment must meet the following requirements: There must be monitoring, prescription, and assistance from healthcare facilities, applying the correct medication regimen issued by the Ministry of Health;

Record-keeping, statistics, and reporting systems must be complete as stipulated by the Ministry of Health, and contact with the nearest hospital for professional support and emergency care when necessary.

3. Counseling, education, and rehabilitation of personality and labor therapy.

After receiving drug addicts who have undergone detoxification and withdrawal treatment, the local authority shall plan and direct relevant agencies to collaborate with families and mobilize social organizations such as Veterans' Association, Youth Union, Women's Union to organize educational and rehabilitative activities for personality and behavior, providing employment through the following forms:

Organizing meetings for drug addicts in residential groups, wards, communes to enhance their understanding of laws, lifestyles, ethics...

Establishing clubs and encouraging drug addicts to participate in activities to help each other resolve mental issues, boost willpower, and overcome obstacles to quickly restore personality and behavior.

Providing counseling to drug addicts and their families on psychology, health, employment, and laws to equip them with knowledge to prevent relapse into drug use.

The local authority shall cooperate with families to create opportunities for drug addicts to learn trades, obtain low-interest loans, or secure employment to stabilize their lives.

The duration of personality rehabilitation and labor therapy shall be from 6 to 12 months.

4. Long-term management based on the community.

The content shall be implemented according to the provisions of Point 5 Section A Chapter II of this Circular.

III. IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

During the implementation process, if there are any issues that are not appropriate or problematic, localities and units must promptly report to the Ministry of Fisheries for research, guidance, supplementation, and amendment./.

The Inter-Ministerial Joint Office assigns the National Anti-Social Evils Prevention and Control Agency under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs; the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Health (the Standing Board for Drug Control) to be responsible for guiding, supervising, inspecting, and urging the implementation of this Circular.

Any difficulties or obstacles encountered during implementation should be reported to the Inter-Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Health for consideration and resolution./.