The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit\nTrafficking is observed annually on 26 June. The decision to mark the day was\ntaken on 7 December 1987 via resolution 42\/112 of the United Nations General\nAssembly in order to strengthen global action and cooperation to achieve its\naim of making the international society free of drug abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s theme \u2018Health for Justice. Justice for\nHealth\u2019 emphasises that justice and health are \u201ctwo sides of the same coin\u201d\nwhen it comes to addressing the problems associated with drugs. According to\nthe United Nations, in order to create effective responses to tackle the\nproblem of drugs, accountable institutions of criminal justice, health and\nsocial services should work together to provide integrated solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drug abuse in India<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the last couple of decades, drug consumption has\nbecome one of the gravest problems affecting the children and youth of the\ncountry. In February 2019, the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre\n(NDDTC) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi\nsubmitted its report \u201cMagnitude of Substance Use in India\u201d that was sponsored\nby the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key findings of the survey were: i) At the national\nlevel, about 14.6 percent of the people (approximately 16 crore people) between\nthe ages of 10 and 75 are current users of alcohol. ii) About 2.8 percent of\nIndians (3.1 crore people) have reported using any cannabis product within the\npast 12 months. iii) Around 2.06 percent of the people reported using opiods at\nthe time of the survey. About 0.55 percent of Indians are estimated to need\nhelp for their opioid use problems. iv) Nationally, it is estimated that there\nare about 8.5 lakh people who inject drugs (PWID).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the total cases estimated by the report, more than\nhalf of them are contributed by states like Assam, Delhi, Haryana, Manipur,\nMizoram, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh that have a high prevalence of drug abuse and\ndisorders. Punjab ranks consistently at the top or in the top five in many of\nthe surveys conducted to measure drug abuse and illicit trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to Punjab\u2019s proximity to the border, the state serves\nas a transit route for smugglers for the distribution of drugs in the state and\nthe rest of the country. Youth who are unemployed often resort to narcotics in\nthe hope of forgetting their troubles. Sometimes, the youth try drugs for fun\nunder the influence of their peers, which often results in addiction. The\nPunjabi music industry only exacerbates the problem, as glorification of drugs\nhas become a trend. The problem was so severe that it prompted the Punjab\ngovernment to set up a “culture commission” last year to tackle the\n\u201cmenace of vulgarity\u201d and its complete eradication by monitoring songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RK Chadda, Chief of National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) of AIIMS, New Delhi explains that “adolescence is a highly vulnerable age group. They are prone to substance abuse problems.\u201d According to CHILDLINE India Foundation, there are a lot of cases of this age group because \u201cyouth is a time for experimentation and identity forming.\u201d This problem needs to be tackled at \u201cthe initial stages\u201d, says Chadda, because they are at an increased risk of long-term consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drug abuse problems in women are increasing at a very\nfast rate. Despite the increasing number of drug addicts, not many women\nseek help. One reason for this, as explained by Chadda, is that women\u2019s drug\nabuse problems “are often sitgmatised”. Drug abuse and addiction in\nwomen is a source of constant anxiety for not only the women but for their\nfamilies as well. Thus, the women are usually \u201creluctant to access the\nservices\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the increasing number of drug addicts, not many\nwomen seek help. One reason for this, as explained by Chadda, is that \u201cWomen\u2019s\ndrug abuse problems are often sitgmatised”. Drug abuse and addiction in\nwomen is a source of constant anxiety for not only the women but for their\nfamilies as well. Thus, the women are usually \u201creluctant to access the\nservices\u201d, he says. Dr Sandeep Bhola, who works at a rehabilitation centre for\nwomen in Punjab’s Kapurthala, said that this is a very dangerous situation. He\nsaid, \u201cWe need to focus more on this hidden population (women) because one\nwoman means one family and the impact it has on the society is a lot as\ncompared to that of a male.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is being done?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To tackle the problem of drug abuse and addiction, NDDTC\nprovides both outpatient treatment and in-patient services. It also runs\nspecialised clinics that cater to specific problems of substance abuse like\ntobacco suspension clinics etc. RK Chadda says that the NDDTC provides services\nto approximately 400 patients every day. While 200 patients are provided\nservices at the main centre, the other 200 get services at the community\noutreach units across Delhi. \u201cThese are the underprivileged areas of the city.\nDrug abuse is very common here\u201d, he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The centre plans to introduce new services, including\nexclusive wards for adolescents and women. This is a positive development, as\nthe lack of exclusive treatment for women often creates a hindrance for women\nin seeking help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NDDTC has also initiated a new service called mobile\nmethadone dispensing van, that provides treatment to opioid addicts in the East\nDelhi area. Methadone is provided only under supervision, and several people\neventually stop going to the hospital altogether because of the distance. The\nvans will help in closing this distance and ensuring that people continue with\ntheir treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Union government has come up with a multitude of\nprogrammes under appropriate ministries to deal with the problems of drug abuse\nand addiction. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has prepared a\nNational Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) for 2018-25. The aim is\nto \u201creduce the adverse consequences of drug abuse and addiction by creating\nawareness, educating people about the ill-effects of drug use, and developing\nhuman resources to work towards these objectives\u201d, the plan says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drug trafficking in India<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a 2018 report by United Nations-backed\nInternational Narcotics Control Board (INCB), India is one of the major hubs\nfor illicit trading of drugs. The drugs range from cannabis to more recent\nprescription drugs like tramadol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to an official of the Red Cross Drug\nDeaddiction and Rehabilitation Centre, Gurdaspur, \u201cThe geographical location of\nthe district makes it prone to trafficking of many types of drugs. This affects\nnot only the dealers but also the people, as the drugs are easily available and\nare cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n These drugs reach into India through Punjab via the India-Pakistan border, or through a more circuitous route wherein they first reach Africa and then come to Delhi and Punjab. The rivers and streams along the border are preferred routes for smugglers to slide in drugs as they are not easily tracked by the Indian forces, as pointed out in an article in Economic Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kashmir has also become a new source of drugs for Punjab.\nIn Kashmir, cannabis is locally cultivated whereas heroin and cocaine enter the\nValley through the Line of Control which is then transported to other regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is being done?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Narcotics Control Bureau is the nodal agency for drug\nlaw enforcement in India. It coordinates among various central and state\nagencies that are engaged in drug law enforcement and assists the states in\ntheir efforts to combat drugs. It also conducts a multitude of activities and\nprogrammes to raise awareness among the public about the harmful effects of\ndrug abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Kashmir last year, the Institute of Mental Health and\nNeurosciences (IMHANS) collaborated with the department of psychiatry, SKIMS\nMedical College and the Jammu and Kashmir AIDS Control Society to propose a\ndraft policy to curb drug addiction. The policy was approved in January this\nyear and consists of directives which are to be executed both by the organs of\nthe state and non-government stakeholders. One of the aims of the policy is to\ntreat drug abuse as a health issue as opposed to the norm of treating it as a\ncriminal act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed annually on 26 June. The decision to mark the day was taken on 7 December 1987 via resolution 42\/112 of the United Nations General Assembly in order to strengthen global action and cooperation to achieve its aim of making the international society free of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[99],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-2806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs-articles","tag-days-events-current-affairs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2806"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2809,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806\/revisions\/2809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2806"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkseries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/offerexpiration?post=2806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}