Int’l Day Against Drug Abuse 2010: Her Majesty the Queen Mother Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck inaugurated the centre on June 26

With about 42 drug abusers in the dzongkhag, Bumthang, the country’s spiritual hub, has earned the notoriety of ranking fifth in terms of number of drug abusers in the country.

The first among the 20 dzongkhags was, no doubt, Thimphu, with 350 drug abusers; obviously followed by Chukha with 169. This was revealed by the national baseline assessment (NBA), 2009, on drug and controlled substance use in Bhutan, conducted by Bhutan narcotic control board and the UN office on drugs and crime (UNODC) last year.

Paro and Samtse made the third and fourth positions, with 89 and 64 drug abusers respectively.

Bumthang’s 42 drug abusers, the study found, were into all kinds of drugs, from smoking marijuana to popping pills, inhaling intoxicants, such as petrol, correcting fluid and dendrite, to sniffing heroin and, worst of all, injecting. Chamkhar residents blame the influx of students from various parts of the country to the dzongkhag, when Jakar lower secondary school was upgraded to middle secondary school, for bringing in the trend, which is growing by the year.

“The first instance of drug abuse among the youth in Bumthang started in the late ‘90s,” a resident said. “It was about the same time students from other parts of the country came here.”

A government servant, who completed his middle secondary education from Jakar in 2000, remembers how a majority of the students in his school then, including those from Wangduecholing school, were into drugs and alcohol.

“Inhaling petrol and dendrite from a piece of cloth, and alcohol consumption among the students were most popular then,” he said. “Smoking marijuana was prevalent since 1998.”

Many Chamkhar residents said that, although they had heard of some awareness against drug abuse being createdl and counselling services in other parts of the country since then, they said, such activities never reached Bumthang. Over the years, they complained that the number of drug abusers, especially the youth within the core town area and its vicinity, increased.

The dzongkhag welcomed its new drop in centre for drug abusers and alcoholics on June 26, inaugurated by Her Majesty the Queen Mother Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck, to coincide with the international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking. Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck is also president of the youth development fund.

The centre will be a place, where drug abusers and alcoholics can be detoxed and counselled, with provisions for indoor games, such as badminton, caroms and checkers.

A teacher informed the president that, following numerous awareness campaigns by various agencies, and counselling by teachers, drug abuse among students dropped by almost 70 percent.

Dr Chencho  Dorji, who accompanied the Queen Mother, cautioned students of the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS through numerous forms of drug abuse.

“Many a case has been reported of people contracting the disease from sharing of syringes while injecting drugs,” he said.

Present records show the country has about 185 HIV/AIDS cases, with the latest figures to be soon revealed.

The health minister, Lyonpo Zangley Drukpa, the UN representative and UNICEF officials were also present at the inaugural ceremony.  Source: Kuenselonline