Kohima, November 1 (MExN): on the occasion of International Drug Users Day Ketho Angami, President, ARK Foundation in a statement said that in the earlier years, UNAIDS released ‘Health, Rights and Drugs - Harm Reduction, Decriminalization and Zero Discrimination for People Who Use Drugs’, calling on “all countries to adopt a series of recommendations to implement a public health and human rights approach to drug use. Drug use should be seen as a public health approach and not as a criminal law issue.”
Angami said that the International Drug Users’ Day is to celebrate our communities; to celebrate the importance of our voice in the context of routine and endemic rights violations in our state and all over the world; to celebrate the diversity and vibrance of our community as fundamental to our advocacy and voice. This event today is to mark the day in community and in solidarity. “Today we call for continued solidarity within our community, between our diverse community members, and between our community and other like-minded, marginalised communities,” he stated
“To this, we call upon the state and the national Government to cease criminalising drug users,” Angami urged while adding that drug users just like any other human being needs access to health care and other social entitlements.
“Within our state, we still see the need to provide more treatment facilities and for which the state social welfare department cannot continue to limit itself to funding few rehab centers only, but also needs to pull up their socks to create awareness, set up more rehab centers including a rehab for female drug users and alcoholics and to facilitate other prevention and intervention measures through partnering with NGOs,” he added and requested the government of Nagaland to make budgetary allocation to start implementing the “Substance abuse prevention and treatment policy 2016”.
Today, marks a day to ask the health department, NSACS, Social welfare department to ensure a renewed focus on evidence-based measures, such as those outlined in the Nagaland drug policy 2016, NACP and NVHCP.
Govt urged to make budgetary allocation
Nagaland state celebrated the International Drug Users Day at Kripa D’Block DIC on November 1. The event jointly organised by Kripa and ARK foundation was attended mostly by people from the drug user community.
Abou Mere, President NNaga DAO graced the celebration as the guest speaker. In his address, Mere stated that the day was started to voice against stigma and discrimination as a result of the war on drugs, which has led to compulsory detention and drug users were not being treated as human beings and to also promote access to health care facilities like HIV, TB and Viral Hepatitis.
Mere said that drug users were denied of scientific evidence based treatment resulting in deaths because of Overdose, TB, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis. “As such this day is a day to advocate for the rights of the drug users.”
Rights of drug users also include the NDPS act 1985. This act, Mere said talks about not only section 27 which penalises drug users but also there is a section (64A) which talks about immunity from prosecution which interprets that drug users can volunteer to go for treatment in a government recognised centre. Under the NDPS amendment in the year 2014, OST drug called buprenorphine is legitimise, is also included as a treatment approach of drug users and as a harm reduction. This has been amended since addiction is a disease as stated by the American Medical Association in 1958 and the WHO in the year 1958.
The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and the chief of the International Narcotic bureau and Nagaland drug policy have all recognised “addiction as a disease”. “However, the sad part is that, our state Government has not made any budgetary allocation to start implementing this policy.”
“While on the other hand we need to promote safer practice and also inform our peers about the rights of a drug user,” he added.
Gwabinlo, General Secretary, ARK (Access to Rights and Knowledge) Foundation Kohima in a press release stated that the programme started with the serenity prayer and was chaired by Jacob, counsellor Kripa Foundation.
