The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday announced that it is likely to table a bill in the ongoing Assembly session to address the rising problem of drug abuse in the Union Territory.
The bill will be introduced by the Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakina Itoo, in the coming days.
During her address in the House, Sakina Itoo said, “The draft legislation is ready and will be presented before the Assembly in the current session.”
Her statement came in response to National Conference MLA Tanvir Sadiq, who reminded the minister of his earlier private member’s bill seeking mandatory inclusion of awareness about the serious health effects of drug abuse in school curricula. He later withdrew the bill after receiving assurances from the government.
Responding to Sadiq’s concerns, the minister said that the government of Jammu and Kashmir has finalised the Drug De-addiction Rules.
“The necessary rules and provisions for the implementation of the programme in school curricula were framed and forwarded to the Law Department for scrutiny and evaluation,” she added.
She emphasised that the government remains committed to strengthening preventive and rehabilitative measures to curb the growing menace of drug abuse in the Union Territory.
The UT administration and civil and security agencies have flagged drug addiction as the second biggest challenge in Jammu and Kashmir after terrorism during recent assessments.
According to various estimates, Jammu and Kashmir is currently facing an unprecedented surge in drug abuse cases.
Figures from 2023 had crossed approximately 13.5 lakh (1.35 million) individuals, or about 8 per cent of the population, primarily in the 18–75 age group, were affected by drug abuse in Jammu and Kashmir.
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