Arunachal Pradesh among top four states in substance abuse: Minister

Arunachal Pradesh is placed among the top four states in the country for all categories of substance abuse, the assembly was informed on Tuesday. Responding to a question by senior BJP member Wanglin Lowangdong, Health & Family Welfare Minister Biyuram Wahge said that according to a survey, the magnitude of substance use in the northeastern state is alarming'. The survey examined the extent and pattern of use of eight categories of psychoactive substances - alcohol, cannabis, opioids, cocaine, amphetamine stimulants, sedatives, inhalants and hallucinogens - and found that Arunachal Pradesh is among the top four states in India, the minister said. He added that opium cultivation has been in practice among several tribes of the state for centuries while poppy cultivation and opium consumption have been deeply ingrained in the socio-economic and cultural life of the people in the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh. A report by the Central Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) warns of ...