Odisha Forms State-Level Task Force To Crackdown On Drugs Trafficking, Abuse

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has formed a State Task Force with a view to check drug trafficking and drug abuse.

The State Task Force Against Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse led by former DGP of Odisha, Abhay, will also have a multi-departmental coordination committee headed by the Chief Secretary and co-chaired by the State Task Force’s Chairman.

The STF’s main functions will be to formulate a state policy within the context of National Policy on Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 2012.

Odisha DGP and Secretaries of Departments of Home, Health and Family Welfare, SSEPD, Excise, School and Mass Education, Higher Education, I&PR, and IT will be members of State Task Force Against Drug Trafficking and Drug abuse. They will also be members of the multi-departmental committee chaired by Chief Secretary.

The task force Chairman can constitute smaller sub-committee to study any aspect in detail and make recommendations. The Chairman can also nominate and invite any other state and central government official or expert to any of the sub-committees. The Chairman can seek cooperation from agencies of United Nations System.

The task force will coordinate with relevant agencies and ministries of the central government such as Narcotics Control Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance, Drug Controller General of India, Central Bureau of Narcotics and other state governments as necessary for a comprehensive approach to the problem with a consistent national footprint.

This will come into force with effect from the date of its publication in the Odisha gazette.

The mandate of the task force will be to coordinate, suggest policy and suggest action in the following areas:

Demand reduction and prevention, raise community awareness, increase community participation and public cooperation, identify dependent population, focused intervention in vulnerable, outreach to community, schools and colleges.

Treatment and detoxification and de-addiction and rehabilitation (by community, government agencies and NGOs, hospitals), drug abuse survey to collect data about extent, pattern, geographical spread and demography of drug abuse

Training and livelihood support of ex-drug addicts

Odisha specific study, evaluation, research and capacity building for service providers

Enforcement or supply reduction:

Destruction of illicit crops of ganja/opium, seizure of drugs/contraband, investigation and prosecution of traffickers, financial investigation for confiscation, preventive detention under PIT NDPS act, voluntary cooperation measures with relevant pharmaceutical and chemical industry to prevent the abuse of pharmaceutical preparations, synthetic drugs and possible novel psychoactive substances (NPS), Capacity building including in the area of cyber investigation

Alternative development interventions; harm reduction and assessment of performance and response of Odisha government agencies.