DRUG-FREE COMMUNITY

Context

Key Points

• "Every youth who destroys his life by drug addiction is a loss to our society".
• For 25 long years, Kimcham Taiju's husband in the Chaglang district of Arunachal Pradesh was addicted to "kaani" which is opium in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Located in India's easternmost periphery, Changlang of Arunachal Pradesh has long contended with an addiction problem.
• In 2021, a survey on substance abuse conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment identified the Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh as among the 272 most vulnerable in the country.
• This has led the district administration to try to find a solution to this big problem.

The issue 

Problems

• Addiction is a problem that has its roots in colonial times.
• The British encouraged the Singphos (in the Northern region of the district) to consume opium to subjugate them.
• In Tangsa (Tribe) areas, near Myanmar, black salt was traded for opium.
• This led to addiction in the local population. Soon, other synthetic drugs made inroads.
• Several government-sponsored de-addiction camps were carried out without much success in the past.
• Most of them were traditional with less participation from other stakeholders, other than the government.
• Changlang and the two neighbouring districts of Tirap and Longding (colloquially) referred to as part of the TLC belt) have long been caught in a cycle of drugs and insurgencies: militant groups trade opium for arms.
• Despite multiple crackdowns by government agencies over the years, opium continues to thrive, with plantations across these areas.

Solutions 

• A change in approach from the traditional unsuccessful past.
• Differently formulated de-addiction programmes would be bottom-up and in collaboration with the village.
• In a bottom-up approach, there is a willingness to solve problems by creating fluidly.
• There is no imposition of structure.
• Every individual is seen as a stakeholder and participates in the mission.

• Deputy Commissioner directed the women to activate their Self Help Group (SHG) network and hold a gram sabha meeting, presided by village elders, where the issue was discussed, a list of addicts drawn up and the idea of de-addiction suggested.
• At the end of the meeting, a unanimous resolution was passed: an undertaking by the village to be "drug-free".

• "Nasha Mukt Changlang" initiative- Like "Nasha Mukt Bharat" on a micro-scale, it targeted the entire village, instead of a single individual.
• The addicts would be sent for a month-long de-addiction programme, either at a pre-existing NGO-run health facility or a temporary one in the village, followed by post-treatment rehabilitation including government-sponsored livelihood opportunities as well as counselling sessions and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.
• As alternative livelihood options for those who have returned from the camps, the administration has provided recovering villages with poultry, piggery and mushroom units to keep them busy.

1. Month-long de-addiction programme at a de-addiction facility.
2. Post-treatment rehabilitation and government-sponsored livelihood opportunities
3. Counselling sessions 
4. Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

• Success is possible due to the close synergy between the local community and the authorities.
• As the administration is involved things were seen to be more "systematic".

• The story mentions Kitnya. It is the administration's point of contact on the ground for villages under two circles, Yatdam and Namtok.
• From Persuading people to join the camps to coordinating with local SHGs to supervising the day-to-day running of the centres, Kitnya spends hours in voluntary service.

• "We did not treat the issue as a law and order problem.  With addicts, treat them as patients and not as criminals because addiction is a medical problem. They need patience and care."
• Positive sign-reports of some who relapsed, post-treatment.

• It is seen by the efforts of the administration right from the time when a group of women approached the district's then Deputy Commissioner in February 2021, seeking a solution.
• The administration and the deputy commissioner realised that out-of-box thinking is required.
• It was realised that the administration has to walk hand in hand with the SHGs, Women groups, gram Sabha and the village as a whole.
• The Deputy Commissioner says, "since everyone in the village is involved, it is easy to identify them and work with them again."

International importance

• The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking or World Drug Day is marked on 26 June every year to strengthen action and cooperation in achieving a world free of drug abuse.

• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its World Drug Report 2022 on World Drug Day.
• In 2021, drugs accounted for 91 per cent of all sales on the 28 major darknet marketplaces, up from 85 per cent in 2019.

Initiatives of the Indian Government against drug abuse