Poland – euro net

Profil of the Organisation

National Bureau for Drug Prevention is the central, governmental institution under the Ministry of Health. The main goal of Bureau is coordinating and monitoring actions aimed at drug demand reduction which are listed in the National Programme for Counteracting Drug Addiction. Bureau cooperates with governmental institutions, nongovernmental organizations as well as with regional and communal self-governments.
National Bureau is financed from the central budget.
Number of staff – 30. Professions of staff – psychologists, sociologists, pedagogues.

Responsibility for what region?

National Bureau has the responsibility on the national level.

Main items of content, guidelines in the context of prevention

Main tasks of the National Bureau for Drug Prevention are:
Developing a draft National Programme for Counteracting Drug Addiction as well as coordinating and monitoring its implementation in cooperation with other entities competent for performing tasks defined therein;
Drawing up and submitting to the Minister competent for health matters a report on the implementation of the National Programm for Counteracting Drug Addiction each year;
Performing tasks of counteracting drug addiction manifested in ordering and supporting public tasks including subsidies for the performance thereof acting as a proxy for the Minister competent for health matters;
Initiating measures aimed at reducing use of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or substitutes;
Initiating, supporting and performing analyses and research into drug addiction including drawing up epidemiological assessment of drug addiction;
Initiating and conducting works on new legislative solutions serving the purpose of counteracting drug addiction;
Conducting periodical evaluations of prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes in terms of their effectiveness in reducing use of narcotic drugs, pschotropic substances and substitutes;
Developing standards of conduct in the field of drug prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration;
Initiating, organizing and conducting training courses for personnel performing tasks of counteracting drug addiction;
Providing professional assistance to entities concerned with counteracting drug addiction including units of local government as well as other entities concerned with educational, informative, preventive, treatment, r-habilitative and reintegration activities;

Cooperating with international organizations concerned with counteracting and repairing damage caused by drug addiction;
Operating the national system of information on drugs and drug addiction as well as monitoring actions of counteracting drug addiction at national and international level.
Intervening in case of complaints and requests related to counteracting drug addiction, addressed to the Bureau and the Minister competent for health matters,
Performing other tasks of counteracting drug addiction ordered by the Minister competent for health matters;
Technical and organizational service of the Council for Counteracting Drug Addiction.
In 2011 the Bureau tasks were extended by coordination and financing projects addressing behavioural addiction problems.

Experiences in the field of prevention on European level

NBDP since 2000 has taken part in international projects (in frame Phare, Transition Facility, Public Health Programme).
National Bureau was the partner in the European projects “FreD goes net”, “European standards in evidence for drug prevention”, “Central Asia Drug Action Programme (CADAP5)”.

Experiences in management and communication on European level

The National Bureau is actively involved with a number of institutions acting to counter drug use and the related social and health problems. It is particularly involved with the following: Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe (Poland assumed the Groups presidency in the period 2006 – 2010), Horizontal Drugs Group within the council of the European Union and European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.