In an alarming report, Director of Health Services (DHS) Dr Riken Rina on Monday informed that Arunachal Pradesh has been placed among the top four states in the country for psychoactive substance abuse. Dr Rina disclosed it during a state-level workshop recently on ‘Counselling essentials and mental health needs of children in child care institutions (CCI) of Arunachal Pradesh’. This is a deeply worrying report and should be taken seriously. Going by the arrest of drug peddlers almost daily in the Itanagar capital region (ICR), the report looks accurate.
The problem has been identified and now comes the main issue of how to deal with it. The growing case of substance abuse is a threat to the future of the state. If a large part of the population indulges in it, then how can the state progress? Almost every family is today battling this problem. Society will degrade and it will have a wider effect on the growth of the state. There is a need for debate and discussion among the civil society bodies on how to tackle it. The government agencies will not be able to end it. Substance abuse is happening because people are getting easy access to drugs. How to tackle this is the main issue. For this, everyone will have to come together and work.