Message from the Director

Taiwan has made remarkable progress in political institutions and academic research in response to the damage caused by drugs over the past 20 years. I've been working in the field of addiction and HIV/AIDS prevention since 2000. It has come to my knowledge that not only the drugs affect physical and mental health, but the drug policy, false impressions of drug use, and social stigma also impact an individual's social functions, including employment, education, family, and interpersonal relationships. In the wake of President Tsai Ing-Wen, she has pushed for judicial reform and implementation of the social safety net. The Executive Yuan thus governs The New Generation Anti-Drug Strategy and Drug Relapse Prevention Project through the alliance with jurisdiction. With great endeavor and collaboration, the government expects to overcome drug problems by utilizing comprehensive approaches.

Indeed, it requires cross-communication and a strong alliance between professionals, disciplines, departments to strengthen the social safety net. Holding the same belief, National Taiwan Normal University and CTBC Anti-Drug Educational Foundation collaboratively established CTBC Center for Addiction Prevention and Policy Research. By uniting the power of a non-governmental organization and academia, the Center is committed to supporting the government to develop more comprehensive addiction prevention strategies and diverse community-based treatments/interventions that promote the current policy of 3 cutbacks on illegal drug supply, demand, and damage. The research focus of the Center lies in the area of drugs and drug use; through the findings of the research, the Center seeks to guide Taiwan's policy on drug prevention and support the development of a robust social safety net.

The LOGO of the Center comprises a white sphere surrounded by three individuals symbolizing inter-professional, -disciplinary, and -departmental collaboration in addressing drug problems. The color red, green, and blue respectively represents positivity, resilience, and dream, while white is the color of growing hope for re-entry. I've spent years working on enhancing drug policy. My work can be divided into five stages, including addiction and HIV/AIDS prevention, replacing punishment with treatment, treatment as prevention, consolidating the model of individualized treatment, and triage and diverse treatments/interventions. In addition to the government's 3-cutback policy, the Center aims to enhance the social safety net by the "One Plus." The purpose of the "One Plus" is to strengthen the resilience that supports individuals with substance abuse problems to successfully re-enter society, recognize their values, and increase social productivity.