TOWARDS A DRUG-FREE SOCIETY

Of late drug abuse has assumed alarming and epidemic proportions in our Kashmir valley with large number of school and college going youth falling prey to the menace that unfortunately includes a large number of females too. Prescription drug abuse is of particular concern among our population. Drug dependence and illicit drug use are associated with health problems, poverty, violence, criminal behavior, and social exclusion. However it is not something that is incurable. It is a preventable and treatable disease, and effective prevention and treatment interventions are very much possible. Best results are achieved when a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach that includes diversified pharmacological and psychosocial interventions is adopted.

 

The evolution of the contemporary drug problem has been influenced by a range of drivers. Some relate to demographic trends, such as gender, population, age and levels of urbanization, whereas others are socioeconomic, such as levels of disposable income, inequality and unemployment. Children and adolescents who suffer from neglect, abuse, household dysfunction, exposure to violence and instability are at particular risk of substance abuse. In Kashmir valley major causes of drug abuse have been linked to long standing conflict and frequent phases of unrest, large scale unemployment and illiteracy, stressful social life, educational and family stress, lack of sports amenities and entertainment avenues, easy availability of scheduled prescription products over-the-counter, select areas turning out to be hot pockets of illicit drug use, lack of effective enforcement mechanism and government control over substance abuse, mushroom growth of licensed drug stores and large scale corruption in the society.

 

Unfortunately in many societies drug dependence is still not recognized as a health problem and many people suffering from it are stigmatized and have no access to treatment and rehabilitation. The notion that drug dependence is a “self-acquired affliction”, has contributed to stigma and discrimination associated with drug dependence. However, scientific evidence indicates that the development of the disease is a result of a complex multi-factorial interaction between repeated exposure to drugs, and biological and environmental factors. Attempts to treat and prevent drug use through tough penal sanctions for drug users have failed because they do not take into account the neurological changes drug dependence has on motivation pathways in the brain.

 

Based on the approach that drug abuse is a psycho-socio-medical problem that can be handled through community-based interventions, a multi-pronged strategy needs to be adopted to curb the menace that should mainly include measures towards prevention, control and rehabilitation. Such measures lay emphasis upon creating awareness and educating people about ill effects of drug abuse, dealing with addicts compassionately through a programme of motivation, counselling, treatment, follow-up and social reintegration and by imparting drug abuse prevention and rehabilitation training to volunteers with a view to build up a strong cadre of drug abuse control operators.

 

Regular awareness and counseling programmes through outdoor camps, open air theatres, dramas, painting competitions, video displays, street plays etc need to be conducted by every school and college across the state against drug abuse in order to acquaint the students with the dangers and consequences of such addiction. Even CCTV cameras may be installed in vulnerable and addiction-prone educational institutions to monitor sale and abuse of drugs within and outside the premises. Each and every educational institute must have a full-time position available for a counselor who could either be a qualified psychiatrist or a trained clinical psychologist, who should be entrusted with the job of undertaking student counseling from department to department on regular, door-delivery basis and address their stress management or drug de-addiction needs.

 

Govt. through its information and broadcasting wing must secure slots for drug awareness campaigns in the middle of most popular and widely viewed television programmes. Popular television serials based on stories and scripts related to drug addiction and its consequences must also be relayed from local as well as national channels. Drug de-addiction centres must be established at all district headquarters with sufficient trained staff and bed strength besides a full-fledged drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centre at the divisional level. Each school and college must procure a drug-addiction detection kit that comes at an affordable price for regular detection of drug abusers. This will act as a strong deterrent too. Similar kits can be used by the police for truck drivers and drivers of public transport vehicles.

 

State government needs to take several steps towards controlling the menace of drug addiction. Its approach has to be bi-pronged addressing supply side (that includes enforcement activities) as well as the demand side (that includes rehabilitation and de-addiction measures). On the analogy of National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances formulated in January, 2012, it must come out with a comprehensive and discrete policy against drug addiction and chalk out a robust and time-bound action plan at division, district and block levels. An effective coordination and collaboration between various govt. agencies and multiple stake-holders needs to be fostered. A coordinated response of government and non-governmental organizations can be achieved through government funding support to voluntary organisations for setting up/maintenance of counselling and awareness centres, deaddiction-cum-rehabilitation centres, de-addiction camps and for preventive awareness programmes, workplace prevention programme and training of service providers. Drug sale licences must not be made free for all. Particularly licences to stock and sell schedule X drugs and psychotropic substances must be restricted to a few chosen chemists with an unblemished track record. Sale and purchase records of such drugs must be checked continuously and severe penalties must be imposed upon the defaulters. Drug control department needs to conduct regular market checks and ensure sale of prescription drugs only against the prescriptions of registered medical practitioners. OTC sale of prescription drugs must be stopped.

 

Constitution of block and district level monitoring and vigilance committees with active participation of police, traffic police, medical health officers, school and college teachers, principals, religious preachers, housing societies, mohalla committees, drug control and excise officials can go a long way in not only creating awareness and preventing abuse but also in identifying magnitude of the problem in each locality and motivating the abusers towards the rehabilitation. Social engineering is also of crucial importance in preventing drug addiction. Perpetual sermons through religious preachers during weekly religious congregations can have a durable impact in discouraging drug abuse. Govt. action plan must begin with identification of vulnerable areas that are prone and sensitive to drug trafficking and illicit use and therefore require focused attention and strategic action.

 

Government needs to strengthen its intelligence apparatus for improving collection, collation, analysis and dissemination of operational intelligence regarding illicit drugs. There must be a reward policy for giving information about drug trafficking or abuse.  Inter-state cooperation and coordination in operational intelligence, investigations and legal assistance needs to be improved too. A nodal office of Narcotics Control Bureau must be established in Kashmir division too and in accordance with its guidelines state government has to constitute an anti-narcotics task force headed by an IG level police officer besides a multi-disciplinary coordination committee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary level officer for regular interaction with central and state agencies. This will make the state eligible to receive grant-in-aid from NCB for infrastructure development in narcotics control. Surveillance and enforcement at entry/import points and land borders of the state needs to be made more stringent and foolproof besides identification and eradication of illicit cultivation as well as wild growth of cannabis and opium poppy.