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SRINAGAR: In a unique initiative, the J&K govt on Saturday brought together more than 100 mosque imams to spread awareness about heroin addiction as cases of drug abuse continue to rise across the region.The imams were assembled for a workshop at the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) in Srinagar. Senior officials and doctors briefed the religious leaders about their role in removing stigma from such patients in the community and encouraging them to seek medical help. They also asked them to spread awareness about harmful impacts of substance abuse in society.Divisional commissioner (Kashmir), Anshul Garg, said the active cooperation of religious scholars was crucial in sensitising people, particularly the youth, about the harmful and dangerous effects of drug abuse.“Through Friday sermons and other religious gatherings, scholars can send a strong message that drug consumption is prohibited in all religions and that it destroys individuals, families and society,” Garg said.He said the government would follow a three-stage strategy to deal with the menace, focusing on awareness campaigns, identification of drug users, and counselling and rehabilitation.Srinagar deputy commissioner Akshay Labroo said the administration is taking strong measures to curb drug abuse. Dr Arshad Hussain, head of the department of psychiatry, IMHANS-Kashmir, highlighted the growing burden of substance use disorders in the region and stressed the importance of early intervention and community participation in prevention efforts.Earlier, mental health experts in their detailed presentations on the subject.In the early years, drug addiction was rare in the Valley, they said, adding that between 1980 and 1990, only seven opium users were treated at the then psychiatric hospital, now called IMHANS-Kashmir. In 1992, the total number of substance-use patients had risen to 198. During the 1990s, doctors mostly saw patients who had become dependent on medicinal opioids prescribed or advised by chemists for sleep, anxiety and stress.By 2000, the Drug De-addiction Centre Srinagar run by IMHANS-Kashmir started seeing increasing misuse of drugs like Spasmoproxyvon, codeine and pentazocine, which were abused for their sedative effects. Then cannabis use became widespread but after 2018 a large number of users shifted to heroin. In 2020, the centre recorded 7,403 patients. In 2021, the number of new and follow-up patients rose to 23,403, and in 2022 it reached 41,110.According to the survey, “Prevalence and Pattern of Substance Use Disorders in Ten Districts of Kashmir” carried out by the IMHANS Kashmir in 2023, the Valley has estimated 67468 substance-dependent individuals. The survey said heroin is the most widely used opioid.
