The Needle and the Damage Done
Despite the government’s ‘war on drugs’, since 2006 substance abuse has risen almost six-fold and has seen a correlating spike in human rights abuses and social discrimination against drug users nationwide.
March 24, 2009
MERRY Christina was 26 years old when she and her boyfriend were arrested by police while injecting heroin in a South Jakarta slum. Taken to the district police station, the officers cut Merry a deal: She could have her drugs back and leave the prison without charge if she agreed to “service them sexually”. Facing serious jail time, and struggling against the temptations of a decade-long addiction, Merry was left with little choice.
While he
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