• First, the state should seek special help from the Church for is effective role in providing spiritual freedom from such bondage. The govt should call upon the student community especially to study their own jurisdiction concerning the subject matter and take necessary actions. The govt should introduce different programmes and projects in collaboration with accountable NGOs in providing useful service and solution to the problem.
• Set up various programmes for employment to keep them occupied and fight mental health issues.
• First sensitize and Involve responsible community members because they know the ground reality of who is using drugs thereby helping to track suppliers strengthening border control measures. Monitor and track drug use trends: State governments should monitor and track drug use trends to identify emerging drug problems Enhance law enforcement efforts. Do not go too harsh on drug users. Understand they can be stigmatised. Provide proper rehabilitation and counselling. Collaborate with healthcare providers.
• In response to your publication inviting suggestions for strengthening the efforts to fight drug menace, I would like to submit my opinion to your esteemed press for consideration.
According to me drug menace is usually the culmination of long term use of Gutkha and other tobacco products and alcohol etc. The above being very common in the young age group of our state is in fact very alarming for the future of the state and society. And to my opinion, awareness is the only effective method to check and control this menace. However, the awareness methods should not only speak on the negative effect of drug use but also promote the importance and benefits of good health, healthy lifestyle, individual fitness. This can be done, for instance, by replacing the banners on negative effects of drugs on streets, pathways, footpaths etc with banners depicting local youngsters who are adopting healthy lifestyles. This according to me will not only encourage the youth but also show the state in better light.
The basic idea of the awareness cited above being encouraging and enabling each student/younger children to develop health-conscious lifestyle.
One more suggestion is to nominate health conscious youth as icons at district or town level.
• Drug users are sprouting in every nooks and corners of the state even in the remotest areas. There is only so much Govt can do once the person is hooked on drugs so preventive measures are as important as curative measures.
Preventive measures: 1. A chapter on drugs, its ill effects and de-addiction can be added to school curriculum; 2. There is a trend where children are dropping out of school and taking to addiction. Schools especially Govt schools must be monitored and made sure that every student is getting quality education; 3. Stringent action and maximum punishment for drug dealers. The offender must be dealt with law.
Curative measures: 1. Counselling and rehabilitation centres must be available for the user and the family members as well; 2. Drug addicts are victims not criminals, organize awareness programmes to sensitize civil societies so each one can lend a helping hand; 3. Rehab centres should be available in all corners of the state. lnfact help must go to them and not otherwise. There is a lack of Rehab centres in rural areas where drugs menace has become rampant.
• Involve every local GB and chairman of every district and every corner and find the sellers through the help of local people and kids
• Among many other steps, primary one is to check supply and suppliers. This is always the most important action to stop or minimise the menace.
• Open the Liquor shop... Drug menace started after the liquor selling was banned in the state in late 80s...
• People don't get into drugs because of the failure of the state. The problem of drugs is because of the failure of the family. If the family morals and ideals are strong, even if the youth tries the drug out of curiosity, the youth wouldn't choose because the moral values in which the youth was brought up in determines the life of the youth. However, not everyone is blessed enough to grow up in healthy family environments and thus it amplifies the chances of the use and abuse of intoxicating substances to escape into an alternate reality. Here is where we as a society can come in and usher love instead of stigmatizing the youth. More empathy. The church also plays a big role in the situation because the unfortunately imo, the church points towards the abuser as the problem and completely shuns its doors to the ones that needs the church the most. The state can only do as much to aggressively regulate and curb the flow of drugs, but we all know, ka manu tho ku-te ku-te wha hoile-b ene pai jai.
• Before we try to stop youth from getting into drugs, we must first identify why they choose to do drugs. What is the reason? And when we start thinking about that, we can see that the main reason is boredom. The youths in Nagaland, generally, lack ambition and goals. Most of us are clueless about many things and we're bored most of the time. And boredom is unbearable. A man can endure many things but not boredom. And I think this is why many youths choose drugs to relieve them from boredom. So build sports infrastructures and give the youths a platform where they can pursue a healthy way of relieving them from boredom. We really don't have many things to do aside spending most of our waking hours on mobile phones and sometimes drugs. It's psychological and prevention is not the key in solving this issue.
• Conduct more police raids in and across the border. Maybe we’re not doing enough checking as we’ve seen how the consumption of sunflower (for e.g) drug growing in Nagaland these days? Setting up govt funded rehab centres and facilities for those individuals seeking help. Also if you guys have time, I highly recommend you guys to check out “drug addicts on the streets of Philadelphia” by kimgary on YouTube and see the ill effects drug has on it’s users. I think drugs will always find a way in the hands of the individual no matter how many steps the govt, NGOs etc take to eradicate this problem. It really is up to the individual to resist the temptation of taking in drugs at the end of the day.
• Just lift NLTP Act for greater good in long run.
• Lift NLTP Act then automatically the menace of drugs will be eradicated by itself.
