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Drug rehabilitation advocates have cautiously welcomed a plan by the government to offer users immunity from prosecution in exchange for reporting themselves to the authorities.

Samuel Nugraha, coordinator of the group Solidarity for Indonesian Drug Victims (PKNI), told the Jakarta Globe on Friday that the government would need to provide assurances that users would not face any legal problems by coming forward.

“The government promises many things, but if they don’t deliver, drug users will not take up the offer and we’ll lose the chance to rehabilitate them,” he said.

He was responding to an announcement a day earlier by the Health Ministry that under a regulation issued last month, all narcotics users across the country had six months to report to an authorized clinic. Otherwise, they could face prosecution if caught with drugs for personal use.

Riza Sarasvita, subdirector of narcotics at the ministry’s directorate of mental health, said the program offered registered users immunity from prosecution for possession, although not from trafficking.

Samuel also said it was important that the government’s network of authorized drug clinics was capable of handling the estimated 3.2 million narcotics users in the country.

“Treating drug users involves physical and mental treatment, so the government needs to ensure that we have enough qualified health workers and counselors,” Samuel said.

He added that there were only a handful of psychiatrists and psychologists in the country willing to help treat drug users, largely because it was not considered a lucrative specialization.

Samuel said not all health clinics were capable of providing drug rehab such as methadone therapy, commonly used to prevent users from experiencing painful withdrawal symptoms.

“It would be better if the government allowed more civil society groups to help in the therapy. Otherwise, state health clinics will be overwhelmed,” he said.

Nafsiah Mboi, secretary of the National AIDS Prevention Commission (KPAN), said the Health Ministry should involve the National Police and civil society groups in the campaign to inform the public about the regulation.

“People need to know they won’t get arrested if they report themselves to the nearest health facilities, that instead they’ll be getting help,” she said.

She added that to be able to implement the new regulation properly, the government should conduct intensive training for health workers across the country.

Herru Pribadi, coordinator of the Narcotic Victims Forum (Forkon), said most drug users he knew would likely be reluctant to comply with the new regulation because they did not believe the government would keep their medical records confidential.

“I guess the government should work harder to convince the drug users to report themselves,” Herru said.