As the central government debates on decriminalizing the consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, it is likely to bring a policy where addicts and users will have to present themselves before treatment centers and avoid criminal prosecution. To avoid that would have to declare itself as such.
In the last two years, the number of vulnerable districts (for drug use) has increased from 272 to 372, with 100% districts in Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Goa, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Tripura as vulnerable are marked. , It is followed by Uttarakhand and Punjab, where 92.30% and 86.95% of districts have been marked unsafe, respectively.
According to the Substance Use Survey conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice through AIIMS in 2018, alcohol had emerged as the most commonly used substance among adults with a prevalence of 17.1%. Furthermore, the survey showed that the prevalence of cannabis use was the highest at 3.30%, followed by opioids (2.10%), sedatives (1.21%), inhalants (0.58%) and cocaine (0.11%).
Currently, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, consumption of any narcotic drugs or psychotropic substance is punishable with imprisonment of up to one year and/or a fine of up to Rs 20,000.
So far, while enforcement agencies are targeting the supply chains, the Ministry of Social Justice is concurrently running a nationwide awareness and rehabilitation campaign to treat users and addicts as victims and not criminals in the form of.
A senior government official cited examples from those countries to argue that it was an “ineffective policy”. The official said that under the plan being considered, the caught users would have to submit themselves to treatment facilities and they can come back to the society only after getting cleared by the rehabilitation centre.
For minors who have been caught using illegal substances, parents have the responsibility to declare their children as users or addicts and get them tested in an appropriate facility.
Anticipating an influx of users once this option becomes a reality, the Ministry of Social Justice is now preparing to expand the network of 508 rehabilitation and de-addiction facilities, which will be part of the Drug Demand Reduction Campaign – Nasha Mukt India is supported under the campaign.
Currently operational centers include approximately 340 integrated rehabilitation centers (inpatient care), approximately 50 community-based peer-based intervention centers, 71 outreach and drop-in centers (outpatient care), and approximately 46 addiction treatment facilities. (advanced medical care in government hospitals).
Not all 372 districts have one of these in each, officials explained, adding that the level of treatment varies from drug to drug and also depends on the level of dependence. “Sometimes, discussion and counseling such as Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are sufficient, not all require medical intervention,” said one official.
On the one hand, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment intends to increase the number of rehabilitation centers it is directly supporting – such as addiction treatment facilities, 125 of which are expected to open this year. On the other hand, it is aggressively forging alliances with spiritual and faith-based organizations.
integrated approach
“The department seeks tie-up with any organisation, including spiritual and faith-based organizations or private, which have their own hospitals, educational institutions, counseling facilities etc. We want to be able to promote the use of these features. drug demand reduction campaign,” said a government official.
In March this year, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment signed an MoU with the Brahma Kumaris of Mount Abu to “spread the message of drug-free India campaign among youth, women, students, etc”. This week, the department signed a similar MoU with Art of Living, an NGO run by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, sources said, adding that another MoU with another spiritual and faith-based organization will be signed in the coming weeks. likely to go. South of India.
Apart from addiction treatment facilities, most others run under NMBA are supported by the central government but run by NGOs or voluntary organisations.
However, some of the NGOs running these centers have said that the government still needs to address a lot of the problems they are currently facing.
Awadhraj Singh, president of Raj Foundation Sansthan, an NGO that runs rehabilitation and intervention centers in Rajasthan, said, “For example, the guidelines give us only 30 days to treat a person addicted to smack. It’s nowhere near enough and, too often, we see people turn around and come back to us. It usually takes at least five months to cure a person addicted to smack. Now, we simply ask families to ensure that patients stay at home for at least one more month after discharge.
He said that many integrated rehabilitation centers for drug addiction have only one government doctor, who are not able to give their full attention to the patients and treat them.
“At the two IRCAs, call-in and walk-in put together, around 70 people come every day. Changing the guidelines and giving us more time to treat people would be a start,” suggested Mr. Singh.