The last National Survey on the extent, pattern and trend of Drug Abuse was sponsored by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in the year 2000-2001. The report was published in 2004.  The Survey estimated that about 7.32 Crore persons in India were users of alcohol and drugs. Of these 87 lakh used Cannabis, 20 lakh used opiates and 6.25 Crore were users of Alcohol. The survey covered 40,697 individuals. Only males within the age group of 12-60 years were part of the Survey.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is now undertaking a National level Survey in collaboration with National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in August, 2016. The survey will provide national and state-level estimates of proportion and absolute number of individuals using various drugs and suffering from substance use disorders.

The Ministry has issued an Advisory on 11.08.2016 to all the States/UTs on combating drug abuse which, inter-alia, includes  preparation of action plan by all States/UTs for ensuring facility of de-addiction centres in each district or as per prevalence of addiction, ensuring adequate facilities in every government hospital in next five years with priority to severely affected/underserved regions and districts, assessing the need and ensuring increase in the number of Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts and Regional Resource & Training Centres, establishing separate and specialized de-addiction treatment centres/facilities for drug dependent females, ensuring availability of treatment for those in Juvenile Homes, Children Homes and Prisons, adopting approaches for education and prevention at all levels including schools and colleges etc. So far, this Ministry has received action plans from Nineteen State Governments/Union Territory Administrations.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have informed that there is a shortage of doctors to treat drug addicts.

As informed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, currently, a super-specialization course “DM (Addiction Psychiatry)”, to create super-specialist doctors for treatment of drug addiction, is offered through three premier Institutes under them, i.e. All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, National Institutes of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore and Postgraduate Institutes of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh.

Under the “Drug Treatment Clinic (DTC)” Scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government hospitals are financially supported to provide treatment of substance use disorders through outpatient clinics and training is provided to doctors for treatment of drug addicts.

The Ministry has already formulated a draft National Policy on Drug Demand Reduction and the same is being finalized.

This information was given by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Vijay Sampla in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

 

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Sanjay Kumar/jk/SJ&E-1/

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