About us

The Organisation Against Drugs (ΟΚΑΝΑ) was established pursuant to Law 2161/93 which was passed unanimously by the Greek Parliament, and has been operational since 1995 as a legal person that is governed by private law and reports to the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity.

Its constituent instrument stipulates that OKANA shall:

plan, promote, coordinate and implement a national policy on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts
address the drug problem at a national level, provide valid and documented information, and raise public awareness
establish and effectively manage prevention centres, treatment units and social and professional reintegration centres

OKANA has always endeavoured to combine the roles of national coordinator and services and programmes provider in the fields of prevention, treatment and reintegration.

To hammer out and coordinate national drug policies, OKANA works together with national (ministries, treatment programmes, local government authorities, universities etc.), European and international organisations (the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe, the World Health Organisation, the United Nations etc.). To look into the drug problem in Greece, OKANA works closely with the National Documentation and Information Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EKTEPN)

When it comes to prevention, OKANA has liaised with local government authorities in order to create an extended network of Prevention Centres all over Greece alongside several treatment and social reintegration programmes meeting the different needs of addicted persons.

The administration

OKANA is run by a seven-member Administrative Board made up of eminent scientists and financial experts appointed by the Minister of Health and Social Solidarity whose nominee for the Chair must also be approved by the Inter-party Parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs. The post of General Director is published by means of a vacancy notice. The General Director is in charge of the Organisation's services and units.

The Head of the Drug Prosecution Coordinating Body (SODN), the Chairman of the National Association of Municipal Councils (KEDE), and three renowned health, social, legal or humanities scientists also sit on the Board.

Current Board members:

President: Athanasios Theocharis
Vice-President: Athanasios Dimitriadis, Psychiatrist

Regular Members

Lazaros Kyrizoglou
Maria Tzirarka
Eugenia Papadopoulou
Konstantina Papakosta

Alternate Members

Ioannis Mouratoglou
Diogenis Sarris
Ioulia Nezou-Soulandrou,
Ilias Grammatikopoulos
Constantinos Myriounis

Services

OKANA provides an ever-increasing network of services in order to meet the multifaceted prevention, treatment, social and professional reintegration, and harm reduction needs in the best possible way. The National Action Plan 2011-2012 provides for the planning and implementation of OKANA's new programmes and services.

The Organisation's network of services consists in the following:

Prevention

73 Prevention Centres in 50 (out of 51) Geographical Departments which are run in cooperation with the respective local government authorities.

Treatment

54 Substitution Treatment Units, 4 Drug-Free Programmes for Adults, 1 Drug-Free Programme for Adolescents, 2 Multiple Intervention Programme.

Athens

1 Admission, Information, Assessment and Referral Service
26 Substitution Treatment Units in Attica (Athens and Piraeus) in cooperation with State Hospitals or other public health facilities
1 Drug-Free Treatment Programme for Adolescents (the Atrapos Unit for Adolescents)
1 Drug-Free Treatment Programme for Adults in cooperation with the Psychiatric Clinic of the University of Athens (the Athena Programme)

Thessaloniki

12 Substitution Treatment Units in cooperation with State Hospitals
1 'Self-Help Promotion' Programme for Adults in cooperation with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Patra

1 Drug-Free Treatment Programme for Adults – Network of Treatment Services (advisory services, GEFYRA Therapeutic Community, social awareness programme, family programme)
1 Substitution Treatment Unit in cooperation with the public University Hospital

Rethymno

1 Multiple Prevention Programme
1 Substitution Treatment Unit in cooperation with the public General Hospital

Chania

1 Multiple Intervention Programme
1 Substitution Treatment Unit in cooperation with the public Psychiatric Hospital

1 Substitution Unit in cooperation with State hospitals in each of the following Greek cities:

Larissa, Rhodes, Lamia, Agrinio, Khalkida, Livadia, Herakleion, Corfu, Preveza, Katerini, Volos, Kavala, Alexandroupoli, Komotini, Kalamata, Veroia

Social Reintegration

1 Social Reintegration Unit in Athens
2 Specialised Social and Professional Reintegration Centres in Athens and Thessaloniki

Harm Reduction/Low-Threshold Services

2 Admission Information and Orientation Centres in Athens and in Thessaloniki
1 Direct Assistance and Support Unit in Athens (medical services, social care service, needle exchange service, legal support service, first aid mobile unit)
1 Care Facility for drug addicts in Athens
1 SOS Hotline (1031)
1 Supervised Unit for drug users

Inter-Ministerial Coordination and Partnerships

Working together with other bodies and organisations inside and outside Greece is a for OKANA sine qua non, and a valuable input to the effort of coordinating a coherent philosophy with a strategy complying with current needs so as to avoid overlaps and to optimise resources.

As a contributor to the national coordination and planning in regard to drug demand reduction, OKANA is constantly in close cooperation with the National Coordinator Service and the co-competent following Ministries of:

Health
The Interior
Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs
Citizen Protection
Justice, Transparency and Human Rights
Defence
Labour and Social Security
Culture and Tourism
Finance

In line with the national pluralistic and holistic approach towards treatment of addictions OKANA cooperates with other treatment agencies, i.e. KETHEA, 18 ANO and the Psychiatric Hospital of Thessaloniki as well as with local government authorities, universities, the Greek Documentation and Information Centre on Drugs (EKTEPN), the University Mental Health Research Institute (UMHRI) and other mental health bodies in an effort to coordinate actions focused on prevention and on the need to deal with the drug problem but, also, to make such actions more effective.

Outside Greece, OKANA works together with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), the Horizontal Working Party on Drugs, the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe, the Dublin Group, other organisations from EU Member States for the implementation of joint European programmes, as well as with the World Health Organisation and the United Nations.