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Judgment
It is reported by Mr. SP Mahanta, Amicus Curiae, that the drug menace in the State has reached an alarming level and unless immediate steps are taken, a generation or more may be lost to addiction.
In particular, Mr. Mahanta refers to the plight of young girls in and around Shillong and the everyday discovery of signs of drug use from all over the place, including around the golf course.
There has to be a serious attempt by the State Government to control the entry of drugs and to keep a vigil over the spread thereof. The Court is not equipped to advise the State on how to go about the matter; but, surely, a much greater endeavour on the part of the State is called for. Mr. Mahanta also reports of rampant drug use in Laban and other areas.
Whether it is by simultaneously organising awareness drives and taking exemplary measures against those peddling drugs on the streets, the State machinery has to act against the obvious kingpins and not concentrate only on the mules. The State has to use the machinery to ascertain the source of drugs and the routes that the peddlers take so that ameliorative steps taken now can save the State the cost of undertaking a massive repair-work upon the affliction becoming more widespread.
As noticed in the previous order of December 10, 2021, it is also imperative that there should be a well-equipped de-addiction centre, or several centres, to particularly cater to younger girls who may be driven towards destitution upon being addicted to drugs. It is hoped that both the Departments of Health and Social Welfare would do their best to address the menace in an effective manner.
In a matter of the present kind, the Court may not issue specific directions and the entire object of the exercise is to make the State aware that the menace requires immediate and urgent attention.
Let the matter appear three weeks hence for a comprehensive course of action to be mapped out by the State and the rudiments thereof indicated to the Court by way of an affidavit.
List on March, 23, 2022.