The number of drug users has doubled in the past six years with more than two-thirds of users below the age of 30, a government report said.
The Current Hard Drug Users in Nepal - 2012 survey, conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, has shown there were 91,534 narcotic drug users in 2012, of which 70,390 were between the ages of 20-24.
“More than three-quarters (81.2 percent) of drug users have experienced drugs before they reach 20 years,” the report states.
Drug use has almost doubled since 2006, with a total of 45,225 new drug users added to the 2006 total of 46,309.
The report said the number of drug users, excluding those using marijuana and alcohol, has increased by 98 percent with an annual growth rate of 11.36 percent.
“By recognising the alarming growth rate of drug users, the government has formed a taskforce headed by the
under secretary of the home ministry to prepare a national policy on narcotic drugs,” said Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, Chief Narcotic Drug Control Officer at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Narcotic Drug s (Control) Act, 2033 (1976), which mandates punishments of 15 years to life imprisonment and fines of up to Rs 2.5 million for individuals found involved in narcotic drugs has failed to deter drug abusers and dealers in the country.
“The most worrying finding of the report is the involvement of college students. The majority of them have been found to be addicted to drugs,” he told the Post.
According to Dhakal, the open border and urbanisation are major factors behind the rise in drug abuse. “We have developed a strategy to intervene in narcotic activities at three levels: reduction of demand and harm and control of supply,” he said.
The intervention, however, has done little to curb drug abuse in the country. The rehabilitation of drug abusers has failed to deliver results, while the state mechanism has been inefficient in tracking down drug traders and taking action against them.
The survey also notes there has been a shift in the types and mode of drug intake in the last few decades. “Beside marijuana and bhang, people started taking opiates and chemical drugs like heroin, nitrazepam, buprenorphine,” the report reads.
The report also says the mode of drug administration has changed from smoking or ingesting to injecting, which has become one of the major causes of HIV infection in Nepal.
Interestingly, the majority of drug users (40.1pc) reported that the government should provide employment opportunities for drug users according to the survey. Similarly, some 30.1 percent reported that free treatment facilities should be created, while some asked that society adopt a positive attitude towards them.
Of 18 districts, including 26 municipalities surveyed, the highest number of drug users was found in the Kathmandu valley with a figure of 36,998 drug users, followed by Sunsari with 7,407.
Other districts with high number of drug users include Kaski, 6917, Morang 6415, Jhapa 6008; Rupandehi 5997; Chitwan 4515 ,Banke 4050, and Parsa 2130.
The Current Hard Drug Users in Nepal - 2012 survey, conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, has shown there were 91,534 narcotic drug users in 2012, of which 70,390 were between the ages of 20-24.
“More than three-quarters (81.2 percent) of drug users have experienced drugs before they reach 20 years,” the report states.
Drug use has almost doubled since 2006, with a total of 45,225 new drug users added to the 2006 total of 46,309.
The report said the number of drug users, excluding those using marijuana and alcohol, has increased by 98 percent with an annual growth rate of 11.36 percent.
“By recognising the alarming growth rate of drug users, the government has formed a taskforce headed by the
under secretary of the home ministry to prepare a national policy on narcotic drugs,” said Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, Chief Narcotic Drug Control Officer at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Narcotic Drug s (Control) Act, 2033 (1976), which mandates punishments of 15 years to life imprisonment and fines of up to Rs 2.5 million for individuals found involved in narcotic drugs has failed to deter drug abusers and dealers in the country.
“The most worrying finding of the report is the involvement of college students. The majority of them have been found to be addicted to drugs,” he told the Post.
According to Dhakal, the open border and urbanisation are major factors behind the rise in drug abuse. “We have developed a strategy to intervene in narcotic activities at three levels: reduction of demand and harm and control of supply,” he said.
The intervention, however, has done little to curb drug abuse in the country. The rehabilitation of drug abusers has failed to deliver results, while the state mechanism has been inefficient in tracking down drug traders and taking action against them.
The survey also notes there has been a shift in the types and mode of drug intake in the last few decades. “Beside marijuana and bhang, people started taking opiates and chemical drugs like heroin, nitrazepam, buprenorphine,” the report reads.
The report also says the mode of drug administration has changed from smoking or ingesting to injecting, which has become one of the major causes of HIV infection in Nepal.
Interestingly, the majority of drug users (40.1pc) reported that the government should provide employment opportunities for drug users according to the survey. Similarly, some 30.1 percent reported that free treatment facilities should be created, while some asked that society adopt a positive attitude towards them.
Of 18 districts, including 26 municipalities surveyed, the highest number of drug users was found in the Kathmandu valley with a figure of 36,998 drug users, followed by Sunsari with 7,407.
Other districts with high number of drug users include Kaski, 6917, Morang 6415, Jhapa 6008; Rupandehi 5997; Chitwan 4515 ,Banke 4050, and Parsa 2130.
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