FOREWORD

Drugs and drug abuse are priority problems in our country as in all Countries of the World. Turkey, a transit country for many addictive substances, started to be also a target country in terms of drug abuse pioneered by ecstasy due to her geographical location. There are increases in drug-related crimes and the number of cases, and the number of suspects taken into custody and the amount of drugs seized increase accordingly. Since the problem is multi-dimensional, the fight against drugs must be multilateral as well. Interorganizational cooperation must be ensured and the fight against drugs nnust be conducted in coordination. A policy and a strategy covering all dimen-sions of the problem is the most essential element in an efficient fight against drugs.

Turkey started to participate in the works of EMCDDA and cooperation with Europe was ini-tiated regarding all dimensions of the fight.

Within the framework of EU- Turkey Financial Cooperation, Turkish Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (TUBIM), being EMCDDA National Focal Point, was established with the Twinning Project conducted in the fields of Justice, Freedom and Security. National drug strategy, another aim of the mentioned project, was prepared under the coordination of TUBIM and with the cooperation of relative authorities. Preparation works for a national action plan in line with the strat-egy are, ongoing.

One of the most significant results of the integration of EMCDDA and TUBIM is national report. The report was prepared for the first time taking country data of 2005 as basis and it is aimed to be prepared annually. The fact that the national capacity, programs and activities conducted can be seen in a single report by all authorities makes this report even more privileged.

With these reports to be shared with also EMCDDA, Europe will be able to see the power of our country in the field of fighting against drugs more clearly. Relative authorities engaged in the fight will also have the chance to introduce their activities and policies with this report. While the authorities carry out such activities, our strengths and weaknesses as a country will be seen more clearly and the report will be a guide for creating new policies.

We would like to thank all Institutional Focal Points for their contribution, especially the par-ticipatory authorities, the names of which are stated in the report and which made great efforts for providing the data and transferring them to TUBIM.

Turkish Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction