The Chief Secretary on Wednesday took a “comprehensive review” of efforts being made to mitigate the menace of drugs in Jammu and Kashmir.
Among others, he impressed upon the officers to put joint efforts in eradicating the menace from the society. Besides, he underscored the need of “owning this mission and being determined to root it out at every cost.”
He rightly stressed on increasing the surveillance especially around the educational institutions. He suggested providing a WhatsApp contact for reporting of such crimes besides using social and other media for creating awareness about the ill effects and symptoms of drug addiction.
Beyond doubt, the drug menace is catastrophic and needs to be dealt with very severely at each level as there is fear of losing the young generation to unfortunate plague and no government can afford it.
The problem of drug use is profuse in J&K and this fact has been depicted by various surveys. One conducted by the Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (IMHANS), Government Medical College, Srinagar, in collaboration with the Social Welfare Department and Directorate of Health Services, brought to fore ugly reality about the drug abuse among the unemployed youth in the Valley.
According to it, over 25.2 percent of unemployed youth were found involved in substance abuse in the Valley.
The findings reveal that overall 2.8% of the total population of the Valley has been indulging in substance abuse, with 52,404 dependent on drugs currently.
The survey has found that the most commonly used psychoactive substance was opioids in every district of Kashmir and in all ten districts, 67,468 individuals were having dependence patterns on psychoactive substances. Among them 52,404 individuals were opioid dependent and heroin was the predominant illicit drug that was being used among the opioid users, it finds.
Youngsters linked to the drug trade are more victims than offenders. Importantly this point was stressed by the Chief Secretary and he rightly called for making a distinction between victims and drug peddlers. Regarding the plan for dealing with this menace, the Chief Secretary suggested using the satellite imagery for watching the cultivation and growth of poppy and cannabis. The administration must work in this regard.
Also a collaborative effort on the part of every stakeholder is imperative to check the menace and every individual, and various social organizations need to join hands together, raise awareness regarding the threat possessed by illicit drugs to one and all.
