As the anti-drug issue continues to rage, Tainan Mayor Huang Weizhe highlighted his achievements in drug prevention over the past 20 years and emphasized his full support for drug addicts. (Provided by Tainan City Government)
Policies such as methadone replacement therapy and clean needles have recently triggered discussions. When Tainan Mayor Huang Weizhe attended the Healthy City Award, he said that reducing the harm caused by drug addiction and AIDS is also an important part of building a healthy city. Tainan has been promoting drug harm reduction and treatment for more than 20 years, and has been deeply recognized through the dual-track "drug detection according to law" and "professional medical treatment of addiction".
Huang Weizhe pointed out that Tainan began to promote the "Drug Addicted AIDS Harm Reduction Program" and methadol substitution treatment as early as 2005, and thanked former deputy county chief Dr. Yan Chunzuo and frontline public health and medical personnel for their long-term investment. Statistics show that the number of people infected with AIDS due to drug addiction in Tainan has dropped from 135 in 2005 to 1 in 2025. It has dropped significantly in 20 years and the results are impressive.
Huang Weizhe emphasized that drug crimes must be strictly investigated in accordance with the law; however, citizens who have fallen into drug addiction and are willing to receive treatment should also be provided with assistance through the medical, social work and public health systems. "Zero tolerance for drugs and full support for addicts" not only curbs drugs, but also guides and helps people who are willing to quit addiction to get back on track.
Director of Health Li Cuifeng said that the core of methadone replacement therapy is to take into account both "improving medical accessibility" and "strict drug management". Currently, alternative treatment services are provided in Tainan by designated medical institutions such as Jianan Sanatorium, Chi Mei Hospital, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, and Tainan Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Among them, Jianan Sanatorium serves the largest number of cases. Currently, there are 11 designated drug addiction treatment institutions and 6 maintenance treatment dosing points in Tainan, which reduces the daily transportation and time burden of patients to and from the hospital and reduces the risk of interrupting treatment.
Li Cuifeng pointed out that methadol is a controlled drug and is strictly managed from administration, storage, inventory to drug flow. From 2019 to September this year, the central government subsidized 4,884 people for drug addiction treatment in Tainan, and the city government allocated an additional budget to subsidize 4,258 people, totaling more than 9,100 people. Through the service model of "designated medical institutions + satellite drug delivery points + case counseling", addicts can stay in the treatment system and reduce the risk of treatment interruption and relapse.
At the Healthy City Award Ceremony, Huang Weizhe not only commended the city government team and community groups for their contribution to health promotion, but also emphasized once again that they will continue to combine educational drug prevention, medical addiction treatment and public security inspections to create a drug-free, safe and livable city that is healthy for all.
Tainan Mayor Huang Weizhe emphasized that for citizens who have fallen into drug addiction and are willing to receive treatment, assistance should also be provided through the medical, social work and public health systems. (Provided by Tainan City Government)
