The Centre will soon examine the just released Report on Drug-abuse and Illicit Trafficking and take appropriate action to curb the menace. As it assumed alarming proportions in the urban areas, what is more threatening is that all forms of drug abuse is higher in rural belt, as per the national survey taken up in collaboration with the U.N.Office on Drugs and Crime. This was disclosed by the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Mrs.Meira Kumar at a function organised here to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The Day is being observed on the 26th June every year since 1987, to create awareness among people and rid the international society of this malice.
Underlining the need for coordinated efforts by all concerned, Mrs.Meira Kumar said, Government alone can not tackle the problem. Participation of the society, voluntary organisations and NGOs is a must. Moreover, injecting drugs, with multiple use of the same needle, has been contributing to the growth of HIV/AIDS. One hundred de-addiction centres with trained staff, provide preventive support for HIV/AIDS, to drug users. The abuse of dual use/prescription drugs is also fairly high. If permitted to go unchecked it will damage the social fabric, besides draining the economy, she cautioned.
The Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment Smt.Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan called for greater awareness creation about the ill effects of drug abuse. The addict not only becomes a burden on the family but also on the society, affecting the country’s socio-economic growth. About three lakh drug addicts are rehabilitated in nearly five hundred counselling centres and Treatment cum Rehabilitation centres throughout the country, she added.
The function was organised by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, in association with the UN Office on Drugs & Crime, the UN programme on HIV/AIDS, Federation of Indian NGOs for Drug Abuse Prevention, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Narcotics Control Bureau.
(Release ID :2140)