Six dists most vulnerable to substance abuse: Study

Thiruvananthapuram: Six districts in the state have been found to be most vulnerable to substance abuse , as per an analysis of the Centre. They are Thiruvananthapuram , Kollam , Ernakulam , Kozhikode , Malappuram and Idukki .

The ministry of social justice and empowerment has zeroed in on these six districts among the 272 districts identified across the country, to launch its national action plan against substance abuse, ‘Nasha-Mukt Bharat’.

“These 272 districts have been identified based on the inputs from Narcotics Control Bureau and the findings on a national survey done by the ministry,” the Centre’s communiqué to the state government said.

The action plan devised for 2020-21 is a three-pronged strategy combining the supply curb by the Narcotics Control Bureau, outreach, awareness and efforts to reduce demand and by treatment.

The funds provided under the national action plan for drug- demand reduction can be used for operationalization of the programme. The ministry will also provide Rs 10 lakh per district as grant-in-aid. The programme will be formally launched on August 15 and will continue till March 31.

The drug abuse is also substantiated by the excise department’s figures over the recent years. Since 2016 to 2019, the seizure of ganja in the state by the excise department has been steadily on the rise. From 1,012 kg of ganja seized in 2016, it rose to 1,332kg, 1,884kg and 2,797kg in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. In the last four years, the excise department had seized 166.98kg hashish, 31.48kg methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA) and 26,055 tablets of nitrazepam. MDMA and nitrazepam are widely circulated among the youth, excise officials said.

In 2019, Malappuram accounted for the largest quantity of ganja seized. The excise department had seized 242.9kg of ganja from Malappuram, followed by Ernakulam (202.13kg), Thiruvananthapuram (158.34kg), Idukki (134.58kg), Kollam (105.92kg) and Kozhikode (77.5kg).

Synthetic drugs are widely in use in Ernakulam, Malappuram and Kozhikode. “While Ernakulam is fast adopting a cosmopolitan culture and experimenting with newer drugs, the other two districts have a large population that have religious considerations and are averse to liquor use,” excise sources said.

In the case of Thiruvananthapuram, the drug use is increasing in the areas like Varkala and Kovalam targeting the tourists, while Aryankavu check-post in Kollam is a major point through which it is transported.