Jammu, February 5: The Health and Medical Education Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Sakina Ittoo, announced on Thursday that the state government will present a bill related to drug abuse during the current assembly session.
The minister informed the assembly that the regulations for drug addiction treatment have been finalized and sent to the legal department for review.
Ittoo revealed that since 2022, a staggering 49,276 cases of drug abuse have been recorded. She emphasized that the government is committed to addressing this pressing issue through legislative action.
Speaking in the assembly, Sakina Ittoo confirmed that the bill is ready and will be introduced in the ongoing session.
She also highlighted that NC legislator Tanveer Sadiq had previously proposed a bill aimed at mandating education on the adverse effects of drug addiction in schools. Sadiq stated that he withdrew the bill based on assurances from the government.
The minister reiterated that the government is in the process of finalizing the addiction treatment regulations. She stated, “We have prepared the de-addiction rules and sent them to the legal department for review.”
Furthermore, Ittoo disclosed that of the 49,276 drug abuse cases recorded since 2022, 16,759 are from Kashmir and 32,517 from Jammu.
In recent years, there has been a significant rise in substance abuse in Jammu and Kashmir. According to official data shared by the central government in Parliament, nearly 1 million individuals in the region are affected by drug abuse, accounting for about 8% of the total population. On August 4, 2023, the Parliamentary Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment reported an estimated 1.35 million drug users in Jammu and Kashmir, most of whom are aged between 18 and 75.