Webinar dissects social impact of criminalizing drug users
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, June 22 2021:
Under the aegis of Manipur State Legal Services Authority (MASLSA); District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Imphal West in collaboration with Community Network for Empowerment (CoNE) organised a webinar on the theme 'Criminalization of drug users: A threat to health and social development' on Tuesday.
CoNE president Nalinikanta Rajkumar was the speaker cum resource person of the webinar with panel lawyers and para legal volunteers, representatives of CSOs working for the welfare of PUD and other organisations and the public in general being the target participants.
With reference to the WHO protocol of 2028, the speaker shared how substance abuse refers to the hazardous use of psychoactive substances including alcohol and illicit drugs and how drug addiction is a complex multi-factorial health disorder characterized by chronic and relapsing nature that is preventable and treatable and not the result of moral failure.
Further deliberating on adverse impacts of sunstance abuse on individuals, families and communities and stressed the need to regard drug abuse as physical and mental health problem, the speaker also cited the stand of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment on the needs to view drug abuse as a psycho-social-medical problem.
In order to achieve the goals that had been emphasised in various policy documents, three strategies have been developed to manage drug abuse, he said, adding that the first related to Demand Reduction, second strategy Supply Reduction and third Harm Reduction.
Nalinikanta said that the common approach to curb drug menace in Manipur way back in the early 80s was criminalization and regretted that the same mistreatment of the substance abusers continue to evolve into various worse forms till date.
Considering the variation in the approaches of criminalization and decriminalization in Manipur and that in foreign countries, the idea of organizing webinar on the theme, 'Criminalization of drug users: A threat to health and social development' evolved, he explained.
The CoNE president also conveyed the voices of various other organisations propagating rights-based approach, who believe that the ongoing subculture of forced pick up, arbitrary detention, breach of confidentiality, humiliation, physical and mental tortures, vigilantism by moral policing can only be stopped and prevented through adoption of decriminalization strategy.
He laid down recommendations to be acted upon at various levels by the authorities concerned with a sense of urgency.
Nalinikanta's proposals included organising district level consultation with various stakeholders including police involved in criminalizing drug users community in the state; need for constitution and materialization of special units (as per NASLSA scheme) to help government efforts of strengthening drug treatment quality and to improve prevention through raising awareness on drug abuse; to explore whether the option of decriminalization will be applicable in the context of Manipur and the need to explore an option for composition of a committee comprising various stakeholders to develop a mechanism for proper referral of addicts to treatment.