The state government’s flagship DREAM programme to reduce drug use is good on paper but needs proper implementation, the Hynñiewtrep Youths Council (HYC) said today.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, the HYC said that it had held a meeting on September 28 with community leaders and the general public where it was decided to push the state government to take steps as part of the Drug Reduction, Elimination, and Action Mission (DREAM), which was launched last year.
Although the mission is sound, comprehensive and contains a vision to make Meghalaya drug-free, the HYC is concerned that it “looks good only on paper” but is not carried through properly.
To do so, the pressure group said that the government must set up a large-intake rehabilitation centre in East Khasi Hills in order to meet the needs of 3 lakh addicts.
Daycare centres in all vulnerable districts should also be set up, along with the provision of detoxification and opioid substitution therapy (OST).
On the legal side, the HYC wants to see fast track courts and special courts to deal with drug cases as well as special prosecutors focused on drug crime. Faster prosecution and better conviction rates would boost confidence among the general public, who are often wary of involving themselves as witnesses in drugs cases as these can take years to get through the courts and oftentimes the guilty party is acquitted on a technicality.
In this vein, the HYC also wants to see the utilisation of the more stringent Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1988 and the setting up of a branch of the Narcotics Control Bureau in Shillong.
