ZAITON Zainal Abidin is painfully familiar with how drug use can shatter a family.
Her oldest brother, who she fondly refers to as Along, was a long-time drug user.
When Along was arrested and sent to prison the first time in the 1970s, that’s when the fractures started appearing in her family, Zaiton recalls.
“I was still a kid at the time, and our family didn’t have a car. We had to save money to rent a car to go to prison to celebrate Raya with Along.”
Over the years, Along moved between prisons and the streets.
When their father died, Along was in prison. When their mother died, Along was on the streets.
“Towards the end of her life, our mother was half-paralysed, but all the time, she would call for Along.
“It made me so mad. It hurt me so much. I shouldn’t be shouting at my mother, but I said, ‘Mum, why are you still asking for Along? Along has done you so bad, and you are still thinking of him’.”
“I regret saying that today, but this is the result of the deep rifts in our family,” Zaiton says, her voice cracking.
Zaiton’s story is not unique – it mirrors the experience of countless Malaysian families who have been torn apart by punitive drug laws
This is just one of the many costs of drug criminalisation in Malaysia, say decriminalisation advocates and experts who are now pushing for more evidence- and health-based approaches to resolve the drug problem in the country.
The criminalisation of drugs has failed to reduce drug use, says Global Commissioner on Drug Policy Prof Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, adding that she’s referring to drug use and not drug trafficking.
“Criminalisation may appear to tackle drug use, but in reality, it does more harm than good.
“It drives people underground, increases health risks, and imposes heavy social and economic burdens on society,” she said at the recent Drug Policy Summit 2025.
Criminalisation fails
The failure of criminalisation is evident in the numbers.
“Despite the various laws designed to deter drug use and trafficking, billions being spent since 2019, the police has reported over 600,000 arrests of Malaysians for possession and use of drugs.”
In 2023, the police made 179,799 arrests for drug offences, up 10% from the previous year. By 2024, that number had jumped to nearly 192,857 registered drug users, a 32.5% increase.
Instead of improving things, the criminalisation of drugs has accrued human, social, and economic costs for Malaysia, says Prof Adeeba.
Punitive drug laws can have significant health costs for society, as such laws only serve to fuel stigma and discrimination, pushing people away from health services, she explains.
This means those who need such services the most are less likely to seek help, and they end up becoming more vulnerable to HIV, hepatitis C, and overdose.
“And in the context of the newer drugs such as amphetamines and the new synthetics, significant psychiatric disorders, aggressive and violent behaviours too,” she adds.
She also points out that about 68% of inmates are held for drug-related offences, many
for minor offences, including personal drug consumption.
Overcrowded prisons have become breeding grounds for disease, as a study in Selangor‘s Kajang Prison in 2020 and 2023 found that of the 1,057 inmates who used drugs, 6.5% were living with HIV/AIDS, 39% with hepatitis C, 60% with latent TB and 7% with active TB.
Prof Adeeba points out that overcrowded prisons had also led to repeated Covid-19 outbreaks during the pandemic.
“Aside from the cost to these individuals, the health costs of these diseases to society are enormous,” she says.
Then there are the social costs, such as the one experienced by Zaiton’s family.
Prof Adeeba says the stigma surrounding drug use in Malaysian society is so pervasive that it impedes the successful reintegration of former drug offenders into their communities and families.
A criminal record also makes it difficult for individuals to find stable employment and access educational opportunities, trapping them in a cycle of poverty and substance use.
“Furthermore, the family that is left behind – the children in particular – face untold stigma, trauma and deprivation as a result of parental incarceration,” she adds.
Beyond the human toll, the financial costs of drug use criminalisation are staggering.
Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Awang Alik Jeman revealed in September last year that the country spends RM1.15bil on prison costs for drug offences – an amount that is enough to hire some 5,000 specialist doctors and help reduce waiting times at hospitals.
Add onto that the costs of urine testing and allocations given to the police and the judiciary, Prof Adeeba estimates that the country spends more than RM2bil on criminalising drug use annually.
Despite all these costs, only a small number of drug traffickers end up in prison: only 15% of drug-related arrests in 2023 were for supply.
Most of the arrests were of people suspected of using drugs, or of carrying an amount too small to meet the threshold for minor possession.
A different course
After decades of punitive measures that have not worked, experts say it is time to chart a different course.
There are clear alternatives that have already been proven to work in other countries, says Prof Adeeba.
“Across the globe, countries such as Portugal, Switzerland, and New Zealand demonstrate that a non-criminal approach and harm-reduction save lives, lower overdose risk and deaths, and strengthen social reintegration.”
Unfortunately, she adds, the call for a “drug-free Asean” remains strong across the region.
“Yet this aspiration is at risk when enforcement-first policies dominate. This is precisely where Malaysia has an opportunity to shift the narrative: to move from punishment to health, and from invisibility to inclusion,” she says.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sani said at the summit that the government is currently looking into the decriminalisation of drug use, including possibly amending Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.
“Yes, we did discuss a few articles in existing drug laws that are relevant, although we have not yet reached that stage to decide on any amendments,” he said.
Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act deals with the consumption or administration of any dangerous drugs specified under the Act.
Malaysia has been moving towards a more rehabilitative approach with the establishment of the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) rehabilitation centres, but many who end up in those centres are there at a court order, upon AADK’s advice.
However, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) officer Dr Zin Ko Ko Lynn says compulsory treatment and rehabilitation approaches often face ethical challenges and fall short in improving health and public safety outcomes.
They are also associated with increased risks of relapse and reoffending.
“Voluntary, evidence-based models are more aligned with international standards and human rights principles,” he says.
Effective treatment systems have some core hallmarks, he says, such as meeting individual needs, causing minimal disruption of social links and employment, promoting informed and voluntary participation, and supporting recovery of people with drug use disorders.
AADK deputy head of policy and development Nor Azri Ahmad asserts that their treatment practices are in line with international standards and adds that they are currently aiming to hit 30% voluntary patients in their rehabilitation centres.
“We are also trying to open access to anyone involved in substance use,” he says, explaining that there are some substances where the users could not be lawfully treated at an AADK rehabilitation centre, such as ketum users, before amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act are made.
Where the people are
There are also community-based models of treatment already being utilised in Malaysia, such as Pengasih Malaysia, an association run entirely by a community of people in recovery or ex-users since 1991.
Pengasih president Hafizi Harun says the community- based aspect is a crucial part of recovery.
“When we first started, there were no other forms of treatment, no other forms of support for people struggling with substance use disorder.
“After three decades, we are witnessing the flourishing and growth of the treatment ecosystem across the country, by the community, in the community, for the community.”
He explains that different people who use drugs need different types of support and intervention, based on which stage of recovery they’re in.
“So this is where the community-based treatment services become very important because we are bringing the services and treatment to where the people live, where they are, which is the community.
“Even for those who are not yet ready for formal treatment, instead of waiting for them to come to us as treatment providers, we are bringing the support, we are bringing treatment to where they live,” he says.
He urges for more collaboration between civil society organisations, the police, the AADK, and any other stakeholders to expand community- based treatment, such as through the training of peer recovery helpers and creating policies and funding that support community-based initiatives.
“We started all this community-based treatment 34 years ago, and now we are seeing how other people are emulating what we do and empowering people and believing that this can be done.”
For families like Zaiton’s, such reforms could mean the difference between another generation lost to stigma, or a chance at healing.
