NGO prepares volunteers for rehabilitation of drug addicts

Horizon, a welfare organisation working on rehabilitation of drug addicts, has prepared 200 volunteers at national level for the mental and health rehabilitation of the drug addicts in the country. This was stated by the Chairman of Horizon, Dr Khalid Mufti, on the occasion of the publication of the national survey on drug addicts in the country.
The volunteers, he said included religious clerics and teachers and urged the religious scholars and persons for playing their due role in cleansing the society of the menace of narcotics. According to the report Pakistan has 5 million drug addicts out of which 2 million are heroin addicts. Out of the 2 million heroin addicts one million are the residents of Karachi and the remaining belong to different cities of the country. Similarly, 25 per cent of the heroin addicts are those who inject the drug into their bodies, while the number of the charas and bhung addicts stand second and third, respectively.
The report also include detail survey of the situation of drugs situation in the prisons of the country according to which 50 per cent of the imprisoned persons are have become drug addicts. These addicts admit that they have committed their first crime after using the drugs. The psychologists of the organisation were unanimous in their contentions that the use of drugs lured the people towards crime.
The report also includes detail about cities, towns and rural areas where majority of the drug addicts are those living life below the poverty line. The report has identified the lack of education and awareness as the root cause of the drug addiction in the small towns and rural areas.
The report has also expressed concern on increase in the number of the hashish, heroin, drugs, Samad Bond and means of drugs and especially the use of sheesha. It said that the use of sheesha is continued unabated in hotels and clubs, saying agony of the matter is that it is being used as symbol of fashion, which has been declared injurious for health by the World Health Organisation (WHO).