Substance abuse defined as mental illness in Mental Health Care Act, Centre tells Lok Sabha
The Hindu
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment informed the Lok Sabha the definition for mental illness from the legislation and said that “substance abuse disorders are included in the definition of mental illness in India”.
The Mental Health Care Act, 2017 defines substance abuse disorders as mental illness, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, in response to a question about whether the government recognised this.
Responding to a question from YSRCP MP P.V. Midhun Reddy, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik cited the definition for mental illness from the legislation and said that “substance abuse disorders are included in the definition of mental illness in India”.
The Union government’s measures to address this issue come under the umbrella of the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR). This involves running the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan in 372 vulnerable districts, 340 integrated rehabilitation centres for addicts, 48 community-based peer-led intervention centres, and 71 outreach and drop-in centres.
In addition to this, the government said that it supported the setting up of 46 addiction treatment facilities as part of a programme currently running under the aegis of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.
The Social Justice Ministry allocated ₹200 crore to the NAPDDR programme in 2022-23, increasing funding in the next fiscal year to ₹311 crore.
At a recent event in New Delhi where new addiction treatment centres were being virtually inaugurated, MoS Home Nityanand Rai had said that the Social Justice Ministry’s campaign to reduce drug demand was running in tandem with the Home Ministry’s coordinated action against drug suppliers and traffickers. Mr. Rai said that this was in keeping with Home Minister Amit Shah’s call to treat addicts as victims and prosecute suppliers and traffickers.
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