Recovered Drug Users are Top Players in the Rugby Club.
"Congress 60" Rugby players (yellow jerseys)
Drug use often results in lassitude and some may have the improper opinion that strength and coordination is alien to people who once abused drugs. The Non Government Organisation (NGO) "Congress 60" has cherished the therapeutic effects of sports in the process of drug treatment and rehabilitation for many years and encourages its clients to do sports as a routine part of its recovery programmes. The NGO has a number of sports clubs in different disciplines such as: rugby, football, volleyball, archery and wrestling. Members participate in various tournaments in the national arena. Rugby is a free-flowing game that features a combination of strength, speed and strategy to move a ball into an opponent's territory. Rugby is a full-contact sport yet players wear little-or no protective gear.
"Congress 60" Rugby club jersey and cup
"Congress 60" Rugby player scoring
The Congress 60 Rugby Club was ranked first in the Rugby 15 Tournament, Premier League of Iran, in December 2014. The team won second place in the Rugby 7 Tournament, Premiere League of Iran, which was held in Lorestan province in early 2014. This success followed 10 years of the continuous presence by Congress 60 in Iranian rugby. The Congress 60 Rugby Club consists of former Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and heroin users who have recovered utilizing Congress 60's method. The club competes with other clubs in the Iranian national league.
Mr. Abbas Rasoulzadeh and Mr. Bahador Mohammadi (former ATS and heroin users respectively) are now members of the Iranian National Rugby Team as fixed players and have contributed to the national team in the Championship Tournament of West Asia in 2014. It is worth mentioning that, these two players started playing rugby at Congress 60. Congress 60 has been privileged to introduce more than 10 players to the Iranian National Rugby team in the past years.
The worth of sports in the process of recovery from drugs was recognized by the Congress 60 through practical experience. The NGO suggests that with the right approach and identifying suitable sports for each client, positive steps can be taken towards treatment and long-term recovery. 
Seated Left to Right- Gary Lewis, UNRC, Leik Boonwaat, UNODC Representative in Iran and Hossein Dejakam, founder of Congress 60.
Congress 60 is one of the most prominent NGOs involved in the treatment of drug abuse. It was founded in 1999 by Mr. Hossein Dejakam, who is himself a recovered drug user. Congress 60 operates more than 40 treatment centres where treatment services are provided free-of-charge to more than 30,000 members. Most use
opium tincture
1 as an opioid substitutional-detoxification treatment. The NGO does not utilize outside funding but relies exclusively on the membership fees and contributions of its own members. UNODC has provided drug demand reduction training and capacity building support to Congress 60.
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The treatment modality is approved by the Iranian Ministry of Health and the protocol could be found via
this link
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