Curbing Punjab’s Drug Menace: Experts Stress Focus on Grassroots Rehabilitation Over Punitive Measures Alone
However, merely arresting and raiding the drug dealers will not help Punjab solve its problem. While stern measures towards drug traffickers are important, the need of the hour is to understand the reasons for addiction, the barriers to getting over an addiction and why certain communities are not able to get prompt treatment facilities.
Enforcement drives, community mobilization and deaddiction efforts have been ramped up by the state to deal with the rising problem of drug abuse. Recent discussions about policies have included emphasis on counseling and rehabilitation services as key elements of the strategy. The next step would be to translate these discussions into a continuous and sustainable recovery system at the village level before drug addiction ruins the health, means of livelihood and family ties of people.
Today the focus is not just on catching drug dealers, but on preventing addiction and helping recovering addicts stay drug free.
Why Punitive Measures Alone Cannot End Addiction
The problem of drug trafficking is a criminal one, which requires a vigorous response. Investigating and prosecuting the organised suppliers, repeat offenders and networks responsible for spreading illegal drugs must be done.
But this is not true for someone who is addicted to drugs. Viewing this issue similarly as above case will prevent addicts from seeking help, especially when they face discrimination, isolation and even punishment.
It is because addiction is a complicated illness and a product of biology, psychology and environment. This requires proper medical attention, counselling, family participation and post-rehabilitation services once the patient leaves de-addiction centre. Not all cases of addiction will be cured within a few weeks of stopping usage.
It is clear that the policy dilemma for Punjab is to differentiate between the people involved in making money out of illegal drug trade and the patients in need of healthcare and treatment.
The recent news reports regarding the anti-drug measures adopted in Punjab have also highlighted that apart from political and enforcement measures, there must be access to proper treatment and rehabilitation centres.
Rehabilitation Must Begin at the Grassroots
In Punjab, rehabilitation has to come out of hospitals and specialised centres and reach local clinics, social organizations, schools and outreach workers in villages and small towns.
A proposal by the state government to start psychosocial care in the border districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Fazilka follows this idea. This program aims at supplementing treatment with counseling, emotional support and relapse prevention.
These programs are necessary because recovery doesn’t stop when the treatment program is finished. Return to familiar surroundings, unemployment and conflicts at home may make it difficult to keep up recovery. Follow-up, peer support and consultations with mental health professionals could help in this situation.
It is necessary to train village health workers to identify symptoms of drug dependence, give reliable information about the problem and refer patients to professional practitioners. Local panchayats will help identify any services that are needed, while the confidential referral system will ensure that people won’t feel ashamed to seek professional help.
However, involvement of the community in this issue should not turn into intimidation. Villagers should neither diagnose the problem nor try to confront suspected traffickers. They should help prevent the problem and encourage people to receive professional help and share.
Families Need Support, Not Stigma
Families usually tend to notice changes in one’s behaviour, health and financial state. However, families might not rush to get assistance for several reasons such as embarrassment or fear that one’s going to be considered a criminal.
Public awareness programmes must help people to realize that addiction can be treated and asking for help from specialists is a normal practice. Families require psychotherapy to realize how to react to different issues and how to treat the addicted person without fostering any bad practices.
Addiction requires medical treatment. There is a need for medication, psychological treatment and rehabilitation. It depends on the type of the drug which was used and one’s state.
In addition, there should be continuity in care. There is a need for follow-up visits, plans of prevention of relapse and participation in special support groups after finishing the treatment in special facilities. Relapse requires re-evaluation and continuation of treatment.
Employment Is Part of the Recovery Process
It becomes difficult for individuals to get recovered without any real means of returning back to education, jobs and independent living.
The Punjab government needs to integrate the rehabilitation schemes with job skills training, apprenticeships, sport activities, and employment. The business organizations, educational institutes, and skill development organizations can play an important role in this regard.
Some recent district-level interventions have integrated the efforts of screening and referrals to rehabilitation along with the sports activities and employment programs.
These interventions need to be assessed on the basis of some relevant indicators like treatment retention, recovery results, employment, and access to continuous care services rather than just number of camps run or individuals enrolled.
Accountability Must Extend Across the Supply Chain
A rehabilitation-first strategy does not imply leniency in the enforcement of cases against traffickers. Rather, it implies a more focused enforcement effort.
It involves conducting investigations into organized gangs, looking into suspicious drug transactions, increasing border control efforts and pursuing well-documented cases. This can be achieved through independent monitoring and accountability systems.
Meanwhile, there should be sufficient investment in rehabilitation centers, professionals and community support. Otherwise, without adequate capacity, people who are identified as requiring assistance cannot recover.
Information on the availability of treatments at the district level, as well as follow-up activities, should be provided by the government, but the anonymity of patients must be preserved.
From Crackdowns to Lasting Recovery
A multi-faceted solution to Punjab’s drugs problem is required. Drug traffickers can be arrested and illegal markets disrupted, but only preventive efforts, health care, rehabilitation, and social integration can provide relief to those affected.
It is essential that everyone who needs it is provided access to professional help, which would not be delayed or humiliating. It is essential to provide information to the families, trained systems to the communities, and chances to continue education and work for those recovering.
At the end of the day, success should not be gauged solely by the visible measures taken in the course of the anti-drug campaign. Success should be seen in the reduction of new addiction cases, access to treatment, continuing recovery, and decrease in availability of the drugs.
Drug addiction is a public health issue and Punjab cannot arrest its way out of it. The state has to break up the system, which profits on addiction and build a recovery system.
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