General Directorate of Narcotics Control

The General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) is the entity responsible for narcotics control affairs and raising awareness of their dangers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is entrusted with providing aftercare for drug addicts under the umbrella of the National Committee for Narcotics Control.

The GDNC reports to the Ministry of Interior, and its headquarters is located in Riyadh. It has sixteen offices distributed across the regions of the Kingdom, and it also maintains several offices outside the Kingdom.

The first measures to combat narcotics in the Kingdom began with the issuance of a Royal Resolution regulating the trade of narcotic substances, which are pharmaceutical drugs that have a narcotic effect on humans. This occurred in 1926, during the reign of the Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, six years before the official unification of the Kingdom.

In 1955, the Council of Ministers, under the leadership of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, issued Resolution No. 11, which specified penalties for smugglers, their accomplices, drug dealers, and drug users. Subsequently, the Narcotics Control Department was established in 1960, initially under the General Investigations Department.

In 1971, the department was transformed into a division and became associated with the Criminal Investigations Department in the General Directorate of Public Security, known today as Operations Affairs. After a year, the division became a central general directorate.

Furthermore, in 1978, the directorate was separated from the General Directorate of Public Security and directly affiliated with the Ministry of Interior. However, three years later, the Narcotics Control Department was relinked to the General Directorate of Public Security. Over time, the Narcotics Control Department evolved into a general directorate, overseeing ninety-three departments, divisions, sections, offices, and units.

In 2007, the Minister of Interior issued a decision to elevate the status of the Narcotics Control Department to a sector under the Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs, and it was renamed the GDNC.

The main focus of the GDNC is centered around developing plans to combat drug smugglers, dealers, and users, as well as gaining knowledge about trafficking methods and closely monitoring them. It is also responsible for supervising the regulatory measures related to combating narcotics-related activities. Additionally, it conducts necessary studies to enhance and evaluate field and administrative work in general in narcotics control. The tasks include monitoring and guiding the narcotics control departments, divisions, sections, and units across the Kingdom, as well as coordinating with narcotics control departments in countries to determine cooperation methods and methods for controlling narcotics.

According to its regulations, the GDNC collaborates with government entities internally to prepare awareness materials, enhance the performance of its staff through training programs within and outside the Kingdom, thwart smuggling operations by targeting criminal networks, and monitor the legitimate trade of hazardous substances in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. It also controls abuse, controls drug users of all kinds in conjunction with the National Committee on Narcotics Control, and conducts media campaigns to raise awareness.

With drug addicts needing special treatment to help them get rid of their effects, a Royal Decree was issued on November 5, 1982, to establish hospitals specializing in addiction treatment called al-Amal Hospital in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. The Psychological Rehabilitation Center in Qassim Province was also established to treat and rehabilitate drug addicts.

These hospitals were equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and specialized experts, using advanced treatment methods.