Expressing serious concern over growing problems due to use of drugs in northeastern states, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Meira Kumar today suggested effective monitoring and reporting systems in the region to check it.
There is a need to establish effective drug use monitoring and reporting systems for all seven-sister states in the northeastern region,Kumar said while releasing a monograph on the drug use in the northeastern states.Speaking after receiving a comprehensive report prepared by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) on the use of drugs in the region, she also suggested community level advocacy as also initiatives followed by action plan with a time frame to not only check it but also eradicate it completely.
On its part, she said the government has adopted three-pronged strategy-- building awareness and educating people about ill-effects of drug abuse, dealing with addicts through programme of motivational counseling, treatment, follow-up and social reintegration of recovered addicts and imparting drug abuse prevention/rehabilitation training to volunteers with a view to build up and educate cadres of service providers.
The objective of the strategy is to empower the society and the community to deal with the problem of drug abuse, she said, adding the ministry has been implementing the scheme for prevention of alcoholism and substance (drug) abuse since 1985 to provide service, prevention, awareness on it followed by care and rehabilitation of addicts.
Source: PTI News
