Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Directorate of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of Assam, has organised a two-day training and capacity-building programme for doctors working in various health institutions in the state at the Administrative Officers' College, Khanapara, under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR).
The first day of the training was initiated by Deputy Secretary of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Rashmi Barua Gogoi. Assistant Professor Dr. Parth Pratim Daimari of Lokpriya Gopinath Bardoloi Regional Mental Health Institute discussed addiction, illegal drugs, new types of drugs, and their side effects. Dr. Aheibam Jayant Kumar Singh of Manipur, who was awarded the Padma Shri for his outstanding contribution to drug prevention, discussed the drug problem in North East India.
Based on a study published by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 2019, he said every state in the North East is suffering from alcohol and opium consumption. According to the study, 8.8 percent of the population of 3.66 crore in Assam, or 32 lakh people, consume alcohol. 2.27 percent, or 8.30 lakh people, use cannabis, and 2.91 percent, or 10.94 lakh people, use opium. He said the main reasons for a child or youth to take drugs are association and family influence.
The second part of the programme was attended by Commissioner-Secretary of Social Justice and Empowerment Department Birendra Kumar Mittal and Director, of Social Justice and Empowerment Bhaskar Jyoti Mohanty.
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