National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction

News:Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment has informed the Rajya Sabha about the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction.

Facts:

About National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction:

• This Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is implementing the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) for 2018-2025.
• The plan aims to create awareness and educate people about the ill-effects of drug abuse on the individual, family, workplace and also the society at large in order to integrate them back into society,
• It seeks to employ a multi-pronged strategy involving education, de-addiction and rehabilitation of affected individuals and their families to address the issue.
• The plan calls for coordination with implementing agencies for controlling the sale of sedatives, painkillers and muscle relaxant drugs, holding awareness generation programmes and checking online sale of drugs by stringent monitoring by the cyber cell.
• It also calls for increasing community participation and public cooperation in the reduction of demand by involving Panchayati Raj institutions, Urban Local Bodies among others to tackle the menace of drugs.
• As a part of the plan, module for re-treatment, ongoing treatment and post-treatment of addicts of different categories and age groups will be developed and database on substance use will be maintained,
• Further,a steering committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the secretary, Social Justice Ministry and with representatives from several other Ministries to monitor the implementation of the Action Plan.

Additional information:

About Drug menace in India:

• India is vulnerable to drug trafficking and drug abuse due to its geographical location.
• It lies in close proximity to the major opium producing regions of South West and South East Asia also known as the ‘Golden Crescent’ and the ‘Golden Triangle’ respectively.
• Further cannabis (ganja) also grows unaided in many parts of the country.It has also been reported that it is cultivated in hilly terrains in some parts of the country.
• In certain regions of the country, drug abuse has already become a severe social-economic problem affecting the vulnerable age groups.