Drug abuse to be introduced as subject in schools: CM Jai Ram

SHIMLA: The state government is contemplating to introduce drug abuse as a subject in school syllabus to sensitise the youth about its ill-effects on health and social life, chief minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur said on Sunday.

He was addressing an antidrug rally at the Thodo Ground in Solan town. hundreds of students from different educational institutions participated in the rally.

The CM said that the youth must be motivated to say 'no to drugs and yes to life' only then the state can be truly being called as the ‘Dev Bhoomi’.

Thakur said it was on his initiative that the meeting of the CMS of northern states was held at Chandigarh recently to deliberate of this vital issue and frame a joint strategy to curb drug menace.

The four northern states took a decision to launch a joint operation to eradicate this vice from the society, he said.

The CM said that efforts will also be made to start joint operation along the border areas to nab the drug paddlers. “The state government is also contemplating to frame stringent laws to punish those involved in drug peddling,” he said. “Parents should keep an eye on the behavioural changes of their child,” the CM said , adding that due to the social stigma involved with drug abuse at times the parents of the drug addicts ignore early symptoms of their children being into drugs and when they realise, usually it is too late. He said the use of synthetic drugs was more dangerous and alarming and it was the need of the hour to make the anti-drug abuse a mass movement, only then the future of our country could be safe.