more-in In view of drug abuse gradually becoming the single biggest public health issue in Kochi, the Excise Department is planning to open a counselling unit exclusively for parents of teenage addicts at the Excise Complex in the city. Officials said a proposal to establish the centre, using the funds allocated under the ‘Vimukthi’ programme, was under the consideration of the State government. The project is being established on the lines of the national-level de-addiction institute to come up at the Kinaloor industrial estate in Kozhikode. “The core aim of the centre, to be operated with the support of professionals trained in de-addiction programmes, is to clear the stigma attached to seeking de-addiction treatment. As the law requires minor victims to be treated as outpatients in hospitals, parents often hesitate to treat their children, and this should be changed,” said K.A. Nelson, Divisional Deputy Excise Commissioner, Ernakulam. Similarly, parents also need a guided understanding on identifying a child’s psyche. “There have been instances in which some parents simply refused to accept the mental health condition of their children and charged us of mistreatment,” he said. According to him, Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug and youths in the 15 to 20 age group are the most vulnerable. For instance, the Excise Department alone seized about 7.5 kilograms of ganja and booked 60 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in October this year. In the previous month, it seized about 17.5 kilograms of ganja and booked over 100 cases in this connection. Besides the Excise, the police have also booked around 1,200 cases for drug abuse and peddling. “Most of the arrested were addicts who eventually become peddlers, and they make others addicts too. This is how the narcotics move and turn any place into a consuming spot,” officials said. Meanwhile, steps are also on to revitalise the ‘Vimukthi’ awareness programme in Ernakulam. The first district-level meeting of the project, chaired by the Ernakulam District Panchayat president, was held here on November 6.

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