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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expects authorities to put drug abusers in rehabilitation centers instead of sending them to prison.
Yudhoyono said that most of young people who used drugs are victims of circumstances and should be treated as such.
"These young folks who have become drug addicts have lost their past and present so we should not allow them to lose their future. We should guide them back. They don't belong in a penitentiary but in a rehabilitation centre," Yudhoyono in a speech to mark International Anti-Drugs Day at the State Palace on Monday.
Yudhoyono said that sending drug addicts to jail would only encourage them to be criminals after release.