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JOINT FIGHT AGAINST SUBSTANCE
ADDICTION WITH EUROPE
T
he European Monitoring Centre
for Drugs and Drug Addiction
was founded in 2010 to collect data
on substance abuse through the
analysis of municipal wastewater,
while the Project for the Identification
of Psychoactive Substances through
an Analysis of Municipal Wastewater
started to be implemented in Turkey,
following in the wake of many major
European cities, in 2019. Carried out
in partnership with the Ministry of
Interior and in collaboration with the
Ministry of Health and the Ministry
of Justice, the project has so far been
implemented in 18 provinces. The
protocol signing ceremony was held
on August 28, 2019 in Ankara with the
participation of Minister of Interior
Süleyman Soylu and Green Crescent
President Prof. Mücahit Öztürk.
It was decided that the project would be
carried out under the coordination of
Green Crescent, in partnership with the
Ministry of Interior and in cooperation
with the Ministry Justice and Ministry
of Health, using funds provided by the
Ministry of Interior under the Fighting
DrugsActionPlan (UMEP) for 2018–2023.
The project was launched in January
2019, and the second phase has now
been completed. The protocol defining
the framework of the contribution and
support to be provided by the Ministry
of Interior was signed by Minister of
Interior Süleyman Soylu and Green
Crescent President Prof. Mücahit
Öztürk. Pursuant to the signed
protocol, the sample collection works,
which comprises four phases, will be
carried out in the selected provinces
by the end of 2019. The wastewater
samples are analyzed by the Istanbul
University Forensic Medicine Institute
and the Çukurova University Substance
Addiction Education, Research and
Coordination Unit.
The “Project for the
Identification of
Psychoactive Substances
through an Analysis of
Municipal Wastewater”,
which has been implemented
in many major cities in
European countries, has
been launched also in Turkey
as a collaborative effort of
the Ministry of Interior and
Green Crescent. The signing
ceremony for the project
was held in Ankara with the
participation of Minister of
Interior Süleyman Soylu and
Green Crescent President
Prof. Mücahit Öztürk.
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