ITANAGAR, 23 Jul: Arunachal Pradesh is placed among the top four states in the country for all categories of substance abuse, the assembly was informed on Tuesday.
Responding to a question by senior BJP member Wanglin Lowangdong, health & family welfare minister Biyuram Wahge said that according to a survey, the magnitude of substance use in the northeastern state is ‘alarming.’
The survey examined the extent and pattern of use of eight categories of psychoactive substances – alcohol, cannabis, opioids, cocaine, amphetamine stimulants, sedatives, inhalants and hallucinogens – and found that Arunachal Pradesh is among the top four states in India, the minister said.
He added that opium cultivation has been in practice among several tribes of the state for centuries while poppy cultivation and opium consumption have been deeply ingrained in the socio-economic and cultural life of the people in the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh.
“A report by the Central Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) warns of large-scale commercial cultivation of poppy in the state. The report emphasised the urgent need for intervention to prevent adverse impact on national security, and the health and survival of various tribes inhabiting remote and inaccessible areas of the state,” Wahge said.
The unchecked spread of addiction among the young population could potentially result in the extinction of the communities, the minister added quoting the NCP report.
He said that in response to the challenges, the state cabinet had approved the policy on psychoactive substances 2021 which aimed at, inter alia, eradicating the use of psychoactive substances in the community, emphasising the need for primary prevention programmes and forming guidelines for regulating all demands.
The state government also created the Arunachal Pradesh Drug De-Addiction Society (APDDS) under the Chief Minister’s flagship programme – Mukhya Mantri Nasha Mukhti Abhiyan (MMNMA) and has undertaken several activities to combat substance abuse, Wahge said.
The government has also opened several drug de-addictions-cum-rehabilitation centres across the state involving both government healthcare facilities and NGOs, the minister said.
“So far seven district hospitals in Anjaw, Changlang, Dibang Valley, Namsai, Tirap, West Kameng and Upper Siang have been identified for setting up addiction treatment facilities,” Wahge said.
Plans are also in place to provide opium substitution therapy (OST) across 14 districts with existing facilities and conduct regular screening of government employees and community members. (PTI)
