Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Drug Addicts’ Population Reaches 50,000 in Baghlan

Drug Addicts’ Population Reaches 50,000 in Baghlan

PUL-I-KHUMRI - The number of drug addicts has reached around 50,000 and is increasing with each passing day in northern Baghlan province, an official said Tuesday.
Shah Mahmood Poya, the provincial counter narcotics director, told Pajhwok Afghan News the number of jobless and drug addicted youth had been on the increase in the province.
He said more than 50,000 people were addicted to drugs in the province and they included seven percent women, 13 percent children and 80 percent men.
“We have the capacity to hospitalize only 30 addicts and the rest remain on footpaths and other places,” he added.
Lal Mohammad, a drug addict, said he slipped into addiction during his migration in Pakistan where he ran a shop in Karachi city.
He was expelled from his home six years ago and has since been living under the open sky in Pul-i-Khumri, the provincial capital. He said he wanted to be rehabilitated.
Dr. Mohammad Fahim, director of the 30-bed rehabilitation center, said they kept an addicted person for one and a half months before being discharged and returned to a normal life.
But some addicts after being treated returned to the old habit of using drugs again, he said, adding it was hard to know the exact number of women addicted to drugs.
He said an 80-bed rehab center was needed to cope with the situation and the idea had been shared with the Ministry of Public Health.  About 900 people have been treated in the 30-bed center so far, he concluded. (Pajhwok)