Jammu, February 5 (IANS). Jammu and Kashmir Health and Medical Education Minister Sakina Itu said on Thursday that the state government will introduce a bill related to drug abuse in the current session of the Assembly.
The Minister told the Assembly that the rules for drug de-addiction have been finalized and sent to the Law Department.
He informed the House that 49,276 cases of drug abuse have been registered since 2022.
The minister said that the government will bring a bill related to drug abuse in the current session of the Assembly.
Speaking in the Assembly, Sakina Itu said that the bill has been prepared and it will be introduced in the House in the current session.
He revealed that NC MLA Tanveer Sadiq had highlighted that he had earlier introduced a bill related to drug abuse, making it mandatory to teach about the ill effects of drug addiction in schools.
Tanveer Sadiq said that he had withdrawn the bill on the assurance of the government.
The minister said that the government is in the process of finalizing the de-addiction rules.
He said that we have prepared de-addiction rules and have sent them to the Law Department for review.
The minister further said that 49276 cases of drug abuse have been registered in Jammu and Kashmir since 2022. He said that 16759 such patients are registered in Kashmir and 32517 in Jammu.
Drug abuse has increased rapidly in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years. According to official data shared in Parliament by the Central Government, the number of people affected by drug abuse in Jammu and Kashmir has reached almost 10 lakh, which is about 8 percent of the total population of Jammu and Kashmir. On 4 August 2023, the Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment informed the Parliament of India that there are estimated to be about 13.50 lakh drug users in Jammu and Kashmir, most of whom are in the age group of 18 to 75 years.
–IANS
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