27/06/2007 00:00:00
India: Rally, expo held to press home anti-drugs message
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Chennai: On Tuesday, the international day against drug abuse and
illicit trafficking, girl students said no to drugs, signing up on a
white board at Ewart’s Girls Higher Secondary School in Purasawalkam.
The board carried the slogan, ‘Say no to drugs.’
An exhibition of various substances commonly abused was put up at the
school premises by the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau-Criminal
Investigation Department. About 2,000 students from Ewart’s, Bains,
Seventh Day and Alagappa Schools participated in a rally and formed a
human chain. The children walked from Ewart’s School through Poonamallee
High Road and reached Alagappa School.
Senior police officers including Director General of Police D.
Mukherjee, Additional Director General of Police Narendra Pal Singh and
Chennai Police Commissioner Letika Saran toured the exhibition. Though
the children may have hardly understood the significance of the slogan
it was imperative that they were caught young to prevent substance
abuse, the senior police officials said.
Mr. Mukherjee said curiosity could lead children to experiment and they
may even find temporary relief but it could cripple them for life. Drug
abuse could have a cascading effect and destroy the family. But, there
is hope through de-addiction for drug addicts, he pointed out.
Mr. Singh said drugs were used to launder money, “but to contain the
menace we have enough police machinery.” So far this year, the police
had arrested 12 people under the Goondas Act for dealing in drugs, he said.
TTK Hospital, a de-addiction centre in Indira Nagar, in association with
non-government organisation Asha Nivas and women self-help groups in the
city, conducted a daylong sensitisation programme on substance abuse.
The focus was on alcoholism since the 20 women who participated in the
workshop came from slums in Choolaimedu, Adyar, Thoraipakkam and
Kilpauk, said Jacqueline David, senior therapist.
“Some of them were not even aware of alcoholism though they had seen it
often enough in their lives. In slums ganja (cannabis) is a problem next
only to alcohol consumption,” she said.
This year’s theme selected by the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime is ‘Do
drugs control your life? Your life, your community. No place for drugs.’
http://www.hindu.com/2007/06/27/stories/2007062757440300.htm
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12639
Author:
The Hindu via UKCIA
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