Law terminating public officers who abuse drugs comes into effect

CAIRO – 16 December 2021: The law by which public officers who use drugs shall be fired came into effect on Wednesday after six months of its announcement.

Employees who will voluntarily seek help from the Fund for Drug Control and Treatment of Addiction (FDCTA) who will continue to abuse without seeking help, will be fired.

Six months were allowed before enforcing the law to give abusing employees to be treated. Surprise visits by committees from the fund will test random employees for drug abuse.

Earlier in December, Chairman of FDCTA Amr Othman said the prevalence rate of drug use among public employees declined from eight percent in 2017 to 1.7 percent at present.

That is because of the law making screening for drug use among civil employees mandatory, giving a chance to those testing positive to recover within six months or face termination.

The official pointed out that almost 29,000 had applied to receive treatment asserting that workers at public institutions do not get prior notice of the screening.

Head of the Testing Unit at the fund Hassan Harak stated in August that samples are taken from 1,500-2,000 employees everyday across the country unanticipatedly.