Srinagar, July 26: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that the proliferating magnitude of the problem and the changing trends in substance abuse in J&K is a point of concern that needs to be addressed urgently and scientifically.
According to a press release, he was addressing the party’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) committee at party office Nawa E Subha Srinagar. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of senior leader and former finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather. Omar Abdullah said that the easy availability of opioids, sedatives, cannabis, stimulants is a matter of great concern and it is impossible to keep the youth away from these until some concrete steps are taken. “Substance abuse is not limited to any particular gender, it is rampant among both men and women. The trend of using drugs and other narcotic drugs among the youth has increased to an alarming level, but the preventive measures at the government level are missing. The graph of crimes due to the substance abuse is also witnessing a sharp increase and the cases of murder, theft and robbery by drug addicts are also increasing,” he said adding, “National Conference is ready to give full cooperation and support in every effort aimed at eradicating substance abuse and addiction from J&K.”