Stressing on the need to adopt pro-active approach for eliminating menace of drug addiction from the society, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan today announced a slew of measures in consultation with government departments and members of civil society.The Div Com said that the ugly head of drug addiction has to be stopped from rising otherwise it will have heavy recursions for the society. He sought cooperation from civil society so that a sustained drive will be maintained against this menace.The Div Com announced formation of a drug de-addiction cell headed by principal Government Medical College and officials from department of education, police, Food Safety and health. The representatives from civil society will also be included as its members. The cell will be functional within seven days. He said that the cell will have a dedicated helpline number and centralize the drug de-addiction work of the government. He said that similar cells will be formed at district levels headed by the Chief Medical Officers and comprising of district level officers from various departments. All DDCs were directed to present weekly report to Principal GMC with intimation to Div Com on the drug addiction scenario and the de-addiction work undertaken.
It was revealed that SKIMS will come up with a proposal to set up a modernized drug de-addiction centre and same will set-up on priority basis.The Div Com also directed the regional transport authority to get a medical certificate issued from Medical Officers indicating that the person is not a drug addict before issuing him or her driving license. He also directed the traffic department to use breath analyzers and get help from doctors to determine whether a driving is intoxicated so that the license can be cancelled.The Drug Controller informed the meeting that 148 licenses of medical stores have been cancelled on the charges of violating norms. The Div Com directed the list of de-licensed persons to be provided to police for probing. He also directed the officials to start a massive information drive against drug de-addiction. He also asked the officials to rope in Imams so that they will also raise awareness against this menace.The meeting was attended by Principal GMC, Deputy Director Health services, Joint Director Education and officials representing Police and other departments.