Substance abuse on the rise after bar closure: Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram:
Home minister Ramesh Chennithala told the assembly on Wednesday that the use of narcotic products had increased three-fold in the state after the closure of bar hotels.
It has been found that various types of psychotropic drugs are being illegally sold through medical stores in the state, primarily to the younger generation. At least 228 psychotropic drugs are available in the market and authorities have found that students and youths are using these drugs.
The drugs control authorities have been authorized to conduct frequent raids on medical shops across the state. “Narco terrorism is a new threat and the government is taking all steps to put an end to it. The home secretary will convene a meeting of higher officials in health and tourism departments besides drugs control authorities to chart out an action plan,“ Ramesh said.
He said there were reports of Maoists supporting and providing protection to ganja cultivation in the forest areas neighbouring the other states and police personnel deployed for anti-Maoist raids were monitoring the situation. It is a matter of concern that substance abuse has gone up among students and the government has launched various awareness pro gammes like Operation Gurukula and Our Responsibility to Children in schools to tackle this.
On films encouraging substance abuse, the minister said the home secretary would hold a discussion with censor board officials to curb such tendencies. The government has also decided to monitor the long-distance trains bringing migrant labourers to the state.
He said it had been reported that migrant labourers were being used to smuggle narcotic products into the state and police had intensified searches on trains with the support of the railway police.
