Webinar on drug abuse held

ITANAGAR, Aug 22: The Arunachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority (APSLSA) hosted a webinar on drug abuse for legal aid counsels and NGO members from across the state on Saturday to mark the World Senior Citizen’s Day.

Addressing the participants, former judge in the Himachal Pradesh Judicial Service, JN Barowalia spoke about the Narcotics Drugs & Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985, elucidating the various legal aspects related to it.

During the session on the topic, ‘Overcoming mental health issues for legal professionals and frontline workers’, Kolkata-based consultant psychologist Elizabeth V Koshy trained the participants on how to deal with stress, mental pressure, anxiety and depression during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meditation trainer-cum-hypnotherapist Arup Ghosh from Kolkata shared his expertise in dealing with people suffering from drug addiction. He also shed light on the field of alternative medicine and how it can help fight the problem of addiction.

The health services department’s SACS Project Director Dr Riken Rina sensitized the participants to “the ground realities of drug issue in the state,” based on statistics, and shared his experience in “combating the issue at the grassroots level.”

The webinar also covered the topic of NALSA (Legal Services to the Senior Citizens) Scheme, 2015, during which APSLSA legal aid counsel Nani Modi spoke on the nitty-gritty of the scheme, and highlighted the challenges faced by senior citizens.

APSLSA Member Secretary Jaweplu Chai and OSD Dani Belo also spoke.