10 lakh drug addicts in J&K

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, March 29

Nearly 10 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir suffer from drug abuse, which has over the years seen an exponential rise, reveals the official data shared by the Central Government in Parliament.

The breakdown provided by the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment shows that an estimated 1.44 lakh people are consuming cannabis in J&K, 36,000 among them female.

Opioid addiction is prevalent among 5.34 lakh men and 8,000 women, sedative addiction among 1.6 lakh men and 8,000 women, the government stated in response to a question from National Conference (NC) MP Hasnain Masoodi.

A recent study by the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS), Srinagar, has revealed that J&K has surpassed Punjab in drug abuse cases. The figures shared by the Centre are from the health ministry’s national survey on substance use disorders conducted in 2018 across India, included the erstwhile state of J&K.

These figures look alarming, said Dr Yasir Rather, Associate Professor, Psychiatry, IMHANS. “It impairs the life of an abuser but he or she is not dependent on the drugs consumed,” Rather said.

The figures also include the data of the erstwhile J&K state, including Ladakh, while the drugs taken into account include cannabis, opioids and medicinal drugs, he said.

In 2018, the government came up with a drug de-addiction policy focused on prevention, awareness and accessibility to the treatment.

It calls for an immediate end to the isolation of patients which according to experts will help to de-stigmatise the treatment of the disease.