The much needed policy
Drug addiction among youth n Jammu and Kashmir, especially Kashmir valley has been one of the major concerns of the administration. Though various measures were initiated during the past few months but still a long term plan needed to be drawn to address this serious concern.
Just a week back the announcement of the government about a comprehensive drug de-addiction policy envisaged to weed out this atrocious menace from the society is therefore a welcome step.
Infact Jammu and Kashmir has become the first Union Territory (UT) in the country, after Punjab state, to have a comprehensive drug de-addiction policy. The urgency to formulate a drug de-addiction policy by the government was due to the location of the UT in the vicinity of ‘Golden Crescent’, a name given to South Asia’s opium producing countries like Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan which produces 80 percent of the world’s opium and is considered as the prime source of illicit drug trade.
The policy implemented here has outlined formation of a UT Level Policy Implementation Monitoring Committee and J&K division level de-addiction centre monitoring committees. These committees have been constituted for strict implementation of the policy. The UT level committee has been assigned the task of suggesting changes in the drug de-addiction policy from time to time besides looking out for financial support for various de-addiction activities across Jammu and Kashmir.
Besides, these committees have been assigned the task of inspecting the existing de-addiction facilities in the UT and grant or cancel licenses after thorough inspection of infrastructure, manpower and standards of care.
The policy also focuses on various key aspects including prevention, rehabilitation and integration, training and sensitization, community participation, generating awareness and up gradation and establishment of drug de-addiction centers.
Ironically, the UT has recorded a steep rise in physical, mental and substance-use disorders over the past two decades and an alarming shift in the pattern of substance use in terms of rise in the number of female users, decreasing age at first-use, increasing use of solvents, injectable-opiates and use of steroids as well as increasing drug related deaths (over- dose and accidents.
Though most of these cases go unreported but a serious effort is needed to go deep down the entire row and seek out possible solutions to end the menace for which a serious beginning has to be made.
In addition another sphere where the government needs to intervene is that it needs to ensure demolishing the infrastructure and network that has been created over the years where the supply of drugs is penetrating the lowest level.
The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), which the policy has mandated in coordination with the Excise and Agriculture departments should immediately map the expected cultivation areas and take remedial actions in terms of destruction of illegal crops on both private and government lands.
The ANTF should also formulate an action plan to prevent such cultivation in the next season and will also undertake extensive awareness generation drives to inform the public about the associated risks and issues and accordingly plan a calendar of activities.
KV Network
