According to a report published in print media, approximately 10 percent of Jammu and Kashmir’s population has fallen prey to the scourge of substance abuse making it necessary for the government to chalk out a comprehensive plan to combat this problem and also help the aforesaid lot to come out of this morass by establishing fully functional long-term rehabilitation facilities across the region.
Reportedly, people are in a fix due to lack of rehabilitation facilities in J&K because the existing ones are not up to the mark being deficient in infrastructure and human resources thus forcing people to spend hefty amounts by shifting the patients to facilities outside the Jammu Kashmir. There is no doubt that concerned government functionaries have started taking steps to curb drug menace but the efforts are not matching with the need as the problem has lately turned gigantic with more and more people including the underage victims falling prey to the drug menace.
The first and foremost priority should be to stop drug smuggling and peddling because this is necessary to end the supply of drugs like heroin. The efforts by the police are no doubt praiseworthy but still a lot has to be done to achieve the target because once the drugs will vanish from the scene the problem of substance abuse will automatically be removed.
The other factor is awareness at all levels especially among the teenagers and youths because these sections of society are more vulnerable. To make them aware against drug menace schools, colleges and universities can play a vital role as seminars, conferences, workshops and other campaigns should be organized regularly to make sure that every single child or youth becomes aware and educated about this problem. This initiative has the potential to curb the drug menace to a large extent therefore focus should be laid on this aspect. Parents, teachers, mentors and religious and spiritual leaders can also play a significant role in containing this problem thus it is necessary to ask them to remain vigilant and play their roles in curbing the illegal drugs from the society.
Last but not the least, the rehabilitation of drug addicts is also one of the main panaceas to contain the problem as a large section of the society is in the grip of this scourge. Therefore the government should invest in this sector by opening effective Rehab Centres across the UT so that the victims should be rehabilitated with long term solutions to create drug-free J&K.
