Indonesian drug users are generally imprisoned, not treated.

According to research by the Indonesia Judicial Research Society (IJRS), between 2016 and 2020, 745 individuals were convicted of narcotics abuse in Indonesia.

Of this number, 92.3% of narcotics abusers were sentenced to imprisonment. Rehabilitation was the sentence for only 3.2%, while 3.1% received both imprisonment and rehabilitation.

The remaining 1.3% received other sentences, such as being returned to their parents. This only occurred if the convict was a minor.

"This data illustrates how imprisonment remains the most frequently applied punishment for narcotics abusers," wrote the IJRS in its report.

"Criticism of this view stems from considering addicts and victims of abuse as criminals who should be imprisoned. However, the concept of an addict, and especially a victim of abuse, does not inherently involve blame (censure) that warrants criminal punishment," the IJRS continued.

The IJRS also found that 38.6% of sentences for narcotics abusers involved prison terms of less than one year. However, according to the IJRS, prison sentences of less than one year should be eligible for probation.

"For example, someone sentenced to nine months imprisonment with two years' probation would not immediately serve their prison sentence (it would be suspended)," explained the IJRS.

"Imprisonment would only be carried out if, within those two years, the convict violates the conditions set by the judge in the verdict," it continued.

According to the IJRS, probation should be implemented to reduce the number of narcotics inmates in Indonesian prisons, which are already overcrowded.

"Especially considering the characteristic of narcotics abuse as a victimless crime," concluded the IJRS.