National policy on drug abuse soon

Seeking to check the alarming rise of drug abuse in various parts of the country, government will soon introduce a 'National Policy on Drug Abuse' and has formed an expert committee to suggest guidelines for it.
The need to have a National Policy on Drug Abuse was felt for a long time. The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry recently took the decision in this regard and an expert committee has been formed to study nation-wide scenario of drug and substance abuse, sources said here.
The committee is being headed by a senior Ministry official and experts from various backgrounds have been roped in it as members.

The Committee recently made its first presentation to the Union SJ&E Minister Kumari Selja where it highlighted some of the key issues such as lack of a credible national data on drug addiction and the delayed pilot projects for assessment in Punjab, Maharashtra and Manipur.
The Ministry had planned to start the pilot project in December last year with a deadline to complete it by February 2013.
The pilot project has yet not begun and the Ministry does not have any accurate data to plan and implement its scheme to check drug abuse, the sources said.

The Ministry has formed several schemes to break the demand and supply nexus of drug consumption, but due to lack of a national policy, these schemes are not being implemented properly, they said.

The Committee includes experts from some top medical colleges, centres engaged in task of rehabilitation of drug victims, officials of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)and other stakeholders.
Regular consultations are being conducted with all stakeholders and organisations engaged in rehabilitation of drug victims, they said.
The policy will also ensure a better coordination among agencies and state governments while providing periodical data on impact of the schemes launched by the Ministry.