Workshop throws up suggestions to control drug use

Various proposals combat substance abuse in Kerala came up at a State-level workshop organised by the District Legal Services Authority.

Various proposals such as setting up of a special authority with statutory powers to curb the use of drugs, strengthening of coordination between various departments, notification of the Drug Control department as an agency to handle Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) cases, and inclusion of lessons on the dangers of drug addiction in the curriculum were part of a State-level workshop on combating substance abuse in the State organised by the District Legal Services Authority here on Saturday.

The workshop was organised in collaboration with Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC) - India, and National Resource Centre for Non-Communicable Diseases. More than 30 recommendations to be implemented in the area of enforcement to reduce drug availability, about 15 recommendations related to awareness activities, and 15 recommendations for counselling, treatment and rehabilitation activities were submitted as part of the workshop.

A. Muhamed Mustaque, senior judge of the Kerala High Court, who inaugurated the workshop, said that internalising values to resist unwanted external influences along with proper education is required to combat the drug menace.

“The need to combat drug menace must be a concern for everyone who wants to have a better society. We need to look at the end consumers for this. We should start from schools, from where the current snobbish ideas of success around marks need to be discarded. Knowledge is not for marks or success, but for transformation of personality. We need to inculcate values of sympathy and empathy and make them ideal citizens,” he said.

K.P. Anilkumar, District Judge (NDPS cases), said that there has been a sharp jump in MDMA cases in recent years. “In 2020, a total of 81 cases came to the district court that handles cases related to medium and commercial quantity drug seizures. This year, till June, there have been 101 cases. The biggest worry is the jump in MDMA cases. Under the NDPS Act, 20 kg of ganja is considered as commercial quantity while for MDMA, just 10 grams is enough to be considered as commercial quantity. This shows the potency of MDMA, compared to other drugs. We should have continuous awareness campaigns for children as well as parents,” he said.

District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram City) C.H. Nagaraju said that drug cartels had been adapting new strategies related to production, supply chain management and technology as well as methods to create demand among the target population. Law enforcement agencies have been trying to curb the supply side activities. The Cyberdome does cyber patrolling to track drug-related activity in social media as well as the dark web.

“We have even attacked the financial support systems as well as the software tool used for payment. But, we have to do more as we are still catching icicles, but there is an avalanche waiting,” he said. Thiruvananthapuram chief judicial magistrate Shibu Daniel said that we need to think about institutional mechanisms to support victims, before they reach a critical situation.