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Dimapur, July 9 (EMN): Access to Rights and Knowledge (ARK) Foundation conducted a webinar on “Sensitisation workshop on substance abuse and prevention” with the leaders and members of Pungro Town Students’ Unions (PTSU), Private School Teachers’ Association Pungro (PSTAP), and IBAPWO on July 9.
Taking part in the discussion, EAC Pungro Nahuta Tunyi stressed on the urgent need to address the issue of alcohol and drug abuse in the society. Referring to a recent study, Tunyi informed that 74% of people in Nagaland from 15 years and above consume alcohol or other substances, an update from ARK Foundation stated.
Tunyi has attributed social problems such as robberies, accidents, extortions, domestic violence to substance abuse among the youth. He also cautioned that sharing of needle with infected person could transmit HIV.
To overcome the menace, he has called for collaborative effort from the government, public, NGOs and CSOs. He also stated that implementation of “Nagaland state substance abuse prevention and treatment policy 2016” would help to a large extent in addressing the issue of substance abuse in the state.
While using and buying of contraband items are banned and deemed illegal as per the existing government policies, he claimed that Pungro sub-division has a presence of sizable number of users. As the drugs and alcohol come from across the Indo-Myanmar border, he stated that the government along with the village councils are working to address the problem.
Citing poverty, unemployment, and frustration for the causes of substance abuse, Tunyi stated that substance abuse is not only a problem of an individual along but also a problem of the society at large.
“The society also needs to show care and empathy to the people who are already into substance use. The need to have a professional counsellor and psychiatrist and rehabilitation centre in Pungro also is felt to help drug users recover from their addiction,” Tunyi added.
K Wango Langsym, assistant director of Social Welfare department, emphasised on the importance of conducting such seminar to create awareness and sensitise the youth and students.
While advising the students to aim high and to dream big, he cited examples of how substance abuse had ruined many lives despite their high aim and big dream. He also called upon the student leaders to partner in spreading awareness on substance abuse in their own locality.
President of ARK Foundation Ketho Angami, who spoke on “Substance abuse and prevention,” shared history of addiction in Nagaland which started almost three decades ago. He defined the definition of substance use as “any substance when taken in turn modifies the person’s well being”. Besides, he also shared various types of drugs such as depressant, sedative and hallucinogens.
He has expressed concern on the practices such as sniffing dendrites, use of tobacco and nicotine products and other inhalant substance among the youngsters, which he termed as “gateway drugs”. He warned that such introduction to those gateway drugs could result into forming a chronic dependency habit into harder drugs.
He mentioned one of the drugs by the name of Yabaa (WY- World is yours), which people are introduced to its consumption being reported in Kohima, Dimapur, Mon, and Tuensang districts. Another concern, he expressed, was the rampant use of pharmaceutical drugs in the form of cough syrup. He also warned that once a person reaches the dependency stage, numerous problems erupts affecting the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of an individual.
On the management and prevention aspect, he encouraged to create awareness on the harmful effects of drug use and not to ever get introduced into substance use.
Ketho further called upon all the participants to continue working and not to give up hope in the fight against drug addiction in the state.