Greeting the participants, the Chairman of the Health and Family Committee, Prof. Dr Dusan Milisavljevic stressed that the state must respond to the fight against drugs by drafting a national strategy, considering that drugs are one of the most serious problems we face today. The Committee Chairman also pointed out that the state should pass a new four-year anti-drugs Action Plan which would enable the implementation of the Anti-Drugs Strategy.
Dr Branislav Blazic, Committee member and proposer of the topic of the public hearing, stressed that the fight against drugs is a very complex issue which calls for coordination among the relevant ministries of the Republic of Serbia. The establishment of a central coordinating body is vital as it would enable a comprehensive approach to the problem, said Blazic. He added that the existing Strategy should be evaluated, and the European Union’s recommendations in the fight against drugs should be taken into consideration in the drafting of the next Strategy.
On the behalf of the Ministry of Health, the participants were addressed by Prof. Dr Perisa Simonovic, Ministry’s State Secretary, who spoke about the implementation of the Strategy against the Abuse of Psychoactive Substances in the Republic of Serbia, adopted in 2009. Simonovic informed the participants of the state’s strategic commitments in the fight against drugs, the results achieved so far and goals as regards use reduction which he believes realistically achievable as they are pragmatic and not based on the establishment of a “state without drugs”.
Prof. Dr Mirjana Jovanovic, President of the Republic Expert Commission for the Prevention and Control of Addiction, briefed the participants on the models used for the treatment of people addicted to psychoactive substances. Next period’s key goal is to have the Healthcare Law recognise addiction treatment centres.
Prof. Dr Milica Prostran, spoke of the role and tasks of the Commission for Psychoactive Controlled Substances in the fight against drugs, saying that Serbia, as a country which observes international conventions, is tasked with striking a balance between the availability of these substances for therapeutic use and their prevention when abused.
Ivan Brandic of the Interior Ministry’s Criminal Police Directorate analysed the situation in the fight against drugs as the most wide-spread type of criminal activity in Serbia. Speaking of types of drugs and how they are smuggled, production and distribution of drugs, Brandic concluded that the state needs to take a multi-sector approach to the problem, like other European states, so that the state’s strategic response could be effective.
The participants of the public hearing were also informed about the problems the implementation of the National Anti-Drugs Strategy within the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions comes against, from the representative of the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, Dr Miodrag Andjelkovic, while Milka Kalba of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, spoke of social welfare services and the users of psychoactive substances.
Predrag Perunicic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Youth and Sport, and Vlade Divac, President of Serbia’s Olympic Committee and good-will ambassador of UN’s Sport against Drugs programme, spoke about the importance of sports, development of a sporting spirit and peer education for the prevention of drug abuse.
At the end of the public hearing, the participants were addressed by Dr Biljana Kilibarda of the Dr Milovan Jovanovic Batut Public Health Institute, who stressed the importance of the European Union programmes for the prevention and fight against drugs.
In the discussion, the participants exchanged opinions and experiences in the field of prevention and fight against drugs, pointing out that in addition to the medical approach to the problem, prevention and role the family, school and environment play in the process should receive more attention. They recognised the need to provide more adequate treatment conditions at the local level. They also discussed issues such as peer education, treatment methods for drug addicts and their re-socialisation, as well as the role society plays in the process. They concluded that one of the most important tasks the state needs to tackle to establish coordination among all the institutions, organisations and services involved in the matter, both at the local and national level.
The Committee’s conclusions and recommendations reached at the public hearing will be forwarded to the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

The public hearing was held with the support of UNDP.