Continuous Development and “Sunshine Project” Promotion

- Suggestions on Further Promotion of “Sunshine Project” for Community-based Drug Rehabilitation and Recovery
By Zhao Xiang, deputy director of Guizhou Drug Control Commission, director of the Drug Control Office, and deputy head of Guizhou Public Security Department

Influenced by various international and domestic drug-related factors and due to its special geographic location, Guizhou faces a very grave drug situation, and is one of the areas harmed by drugs most seriously in China. Guizhou also faces very heavy and difficult drug control work and tasks. In such a circumstance, Guizhou has created the “Sunshine Project,” a new mode for drug rehabilitation and recovery featuring physical detoxification, physical and mental recovery, job placement, and integration into the society, with job placement as the core and “sunshine enterprises” as the carrier. Viewed from the promotion situation of the “Sunshine Project,” the project has removed social uncertainties and unstable factors to the maximum and promoted harmonious social development, and is an effective exploration for the innovation of social management.

While seeing the achievements made in the “Sunshine Project” for community-based drug rehabilitation and recovery, we should also realize the existing problems. Besides the misunderstanding of some local officials on the promotion of the “Sunshine Project,” there are still some problems such as enterprise selection and market risks in the implementation of this policy. As most of the current cooperative enterprises in the project are labor intensive and their products have low value added, the salaries for drug rehabilitation and recovery personnel working there are low, leading to the possible losses of employees in the long run. Moreover, how to motivate their work enthusiasm is also a difficulty. Drug rehabilitation personnel fail to adapt to the work pace of enterprises quickly as most of them has not worked for a long time because of drug addiction. Meanwhile, the management of “sunshine enterprises” should also be improved, so as to avoid cross infection of drug rehabilitation and recovery personnel in work. It can be said that the promotion of the “Sunshine Project” still has a long way to go, and that the fundamental issue to be solved is how to achieve sustainable development.