Page 18 - Tehelka Issue 14E

CoverStory
mixture to victims of substance abuse which is proving in the form of a completely new mechanism Outpatient
fatal. Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) launched by our
government.
How many officially confirmed drug-related deaths
have been reported till date in the state? What is an OOAT clinic?
Neither the state health department nor the police have It is an OPD-based clinic with trained manpower. The
any data of such deaths for last 10 years. The reason may department followed the need-based approach that
be that families do not normally report fearing social required people only with severe problem to be admit-
stigma. ted in the in-patient facilities whereas others can be
treated in OPD facility. The psychiatrist of the district is
You said that the supply chain has been choked, but its overall in-charge. Here a patient is examined by the
the people hooked to substance abuse need a proper Psychiatrist or Medical Officer trained for de-addiction.
This program was launched in pilot phase in
Amritsar, Moga and Tarn Taran districts in
October 2017 and later extended to rest of the
state in May 2018.
How do you respond to the allegation not
all OOAT centres are functional due to
lack of facilities especially the shortage of
medicines?
This is absolutely wrong allegation. We have
81 OOAT centres functional across all the
districts, which are running successfully.
There are total 8,121 patients in OOAT clinics,
out of which 6,897 patients are re-visiting,
which means a very high retention rate of
84.93 per cent. Total 2,71,098 people have
availed this OPD service and provided
8,02,295 Buprenorphine tablets which is the
key medicine.
With this new strategy in place, will your
government close down de-addiction and
rehabilitation centres?
No, rather we have strengthened the exist-
ing centres and renamed them as NavJeevan
Kendras and NavNirman Kendras so that
stigma of being addict does not stick. We are
running five model 50-bed de-addiction cen-
reform mechanism once the supply is stopped. Is tres having a qualified Counsellor complete availability
your department equipped to handle such victims? of all important medicines including Buprenorphine-
Yes, this is absolutely a very valid question. We all know naloxone and Tramadol. Besides 32 government centres
once the supply is stopped to any drug abuse victim at district and sub-division hospitals, there are around
requires an immediate rehabilitation system. We have 96 10-bed private centers licensed by the government.
already put in place a robust system of medical facilities, There are 22 rehabilitation centres working where
completely based on a new revised approach recom- patients go after detoxification at de-addiction centres.
mended by leading psychiatrists of global repute.
What do you think could help reverse the deadly
What is the new approach to rehabilitate the sub- trend?
stance abusers? Emotional touch, I believe, can really help wean back
As soon as we came to power, we studied the models the victims from drugs besides community awareness
of various countries affected by drugs and the strate- up to the grass root level. We are launching a major
gies adopted by them. As guided by our CM, experts’ campaign involving interpersonal communication,
opinions were taken to prepare rehabilitation strategy mass media and social media to combat the menace.
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DRUG MENACE
died on June 10 due to drug overdose. Shivam of this effect, according to an official spokesperson. The
Ferozepur died on July 1. His father Ashok Kumar chief minister had called for the meeting to discuss
said that his son was an assistant mechanic in an the issue, particularly in the context of the recent
auto shop where he fell into bad company. “Initial- spate of deaths due to alleged drug overdose and
ly, he was taking tablets, but later became addicted adulterated drugs in the state.
to ‘chitta’”. Basant Singh of Khai Pheme village in The Cabinet decided to constitute a special work-
Ferozepur got trapped into the drug menace and ing group under the chairmanship of Additional
stated taking “injections”, said the family. Chief Secretary (Home) NS Kalsi to review and moni-
tor, on a day-to-day basis, the action being taken to
‘CUT’ DEATHS check and control drug abuse. The special working
Investigations by the police have revealed that it group constituted to review and update the govern-
is the deadly cocktail of adulterated heroin mixed ment strategy against drugs will have ACS (Health),
with other substances, called “cut” in local parlance DGP (Law & Order), DGP (Intelligence) and ADGP
that is proving to be deadly to drug addicts in Pun- (STF) as members. A cabinet sub-committee has
jab. There is unprecedented fear in families that the also been formed under the chairmanship of the
‘cut’ is causing. ‘Cut’ is not a new drug, but an adul- chief minister, with the special working group man-
dated to report directly to it. Health and Social Secu-
rity Ministers have been appointed members of the
The sheer extent of the sub-committee which will meet once a week to take
stock of the situation and review the progress of the
problem suggests it is anti-drug campaign of the government.
The AAP and SAD have hit out at the Congress
more than just a few regime for allegedly failing to fulfil its pre-poll prom-
ise of curbing drug menace in the state within four
profiteers that have weeks of coming to power. Amarinder Singh has also
ordered a probe into the recent spate of drug-relat-
ed deaths in the state and directed officials to take
been responsible for action against culprits.
causing the drugs STAFF DOPE TEST
The chief minister has announced that all employees
menace or helping of the Punjab Government would have to undergo
a dope test every year. Leader of AAP, the principal
to sustain it opposition party in Punjab sent a letter to Amarinder
Singh suggesting him to review the controversial
dope test order as it could shift the political discourse
from the burning issue of police-drug mafia nexus.
terated form of heroin. It is like injecting cement in The letter said that “feeling the pinch many govern-
one’s body. It reacts so fast that the victim can’t even ment employee unions have demanded dope test
take out the syringe and dies instantly. DGP Suresh of the political class of the state as well. In order to
Arora said, “All IGs, DIGs of ranges and CPs have been avoid social stigma many political leaders includ-
asked to probe each of the recent cases. The police ing Ministers, MLAs, etc. have made a beeline to get
will work closely with the Health Department as well their dope tests done. As such the focus of debate has
as civil society groups in the field of de-addiction and shifted from the real issue of drug mafia having deep
rehabilitation of drug addicts.They have been direct- connections with the police officers of the state, to a
ed to act against drug smugglers to choke the supply non-issue of dope test”.
chain.” The recent tweet by CM Capt Amarinder Singh
Faced with criticism from several quarters over said, “I have ordered @PunjabPolice DGP to probe all
alleged spate of deaths due to drug overdose in the recent drug related deaths and to take exemplary ac-
state, the Punjab cabinet has decided to recommend tion against anyone found responsible for the deaths
to the Centre death penalty for drug peddlers and of these innocent youths. Government will also assist
smugglers. The decision was taken at a meeting of the affected families in rehabilitation” .
the Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Capt Ama- Punjab that successfully brought in Green Revo-
rinder Singh, which resolved to send a formal rec- lution, then fought against terrorism, seems to be
ommendation soon to the Union Government to trying hard to fight a successful battle against drugs.
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