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The Addiction Education, Research and Treatment Center (Certa), part of the psychiatry department of the CHU Nédir-Mohamed in Tizi-Ouzou, was inaugurated at the end of January 2017 after more than five years of work. .
A center with a capacity of 40 beds, 14 of which are dedicated to the treatment of addictions, in particular that of psychotropic drugs. Indeed, according to Pr Abbès Ziri, head of the psychiatry department of the said CHU, Certa has recorded, with each passing day since its inauguration, a significant number of patients addicted to psychotropic drugs. “Certa has treated, since its opening, nearly 1,700 patients from more than 25 wilayas of the country. It has become a center of reference in the country”, underlined Ziri again.
It must be said that this social scourge has taken on alarming proportions in Algeria. Indeed, according to the wilaya security services, 2,239 tablets were seized during the first four months of this year, against 7,729 during the year 2021. These thousands of tablets, mainly Lyrica, called within initiates “saroukh” or “missile” due to its rapid hallucinogenic effects, have been found in younger and younger subjects. This flourishing “business” is attracting more and more young people in search of easy earnings. Moreover, the same security services have revealed that since the beginning of this year 2022, more than 50 people, including minors in high school or college, have been arrested in connection with this traffic, not counting those who still run in the wild.
The Certa of Tizi-Ouzou is the third center dealing with addiction in the country with those of the CHU Frantz-Fanon of Blida and the EHS of psychiatry of Sidi Chami in Oran. According to Professor Ziri Abbès, “this service can treat all kinds of addictions: addiction to all drugs and psychotropics, alcohol, tobacco and other addictions such as gambling.” “In addition to withdrawal cures, this service ensures the therapeutic follow-up of patients in the medium and long term,” says Abbès Ziri, who also stresses that “the Center also has the mission of scientific research in the field of addictology”.
A center which, today, still suffers, according to the same speaker, from the lack of material and human resources “in view of the constantly growing workload and number of consultations. Our teams are exhausted. They are called upon all day long to cope with and respond to this strong demand”. Human and material resources that Certa needs with the upcoming commissioning of the new methadone unit for the treatment of hard drugs.
“Drug addiction, especially drug addiction, is wreaking havoc today within Algerian society in general and the youth population in particular. Legally marketed drugs, such as Lyrica, are even diverted for the purposes of addictive consumption, ”underlines Professor Ziri. And to conclude: “Certainly, it is a public health problem, but health alone cannot cope with its many ravages. There must be an awareness of the whole society, starting with the family, the school and other institutions to curb and eradicate this scourge.
Rachid Hammoutène
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