File picture of an anti-drug rally

Silchar, Aug. 16: Drug-related deaths in Mizoram, which were causing much concern to the state government and the Church authorities for the past few years, are now on the wane.

According to the available information, only 14 people, including a woman, died till June this year owing to an overdose of lethal drugs. A total of 42 people had died owing to drug consumption during the same period last year.

Senior officials of the state excise department in Aizawl today said the tablet, Spasmoproxyvon, is responsible for the maximum number of drug-related deaths.

The medicine is often prescribed by doctors to ensure pain relief and stabilise inhalation during chest congestion caused by symptoms like asthma.

Heroin, another killer, accounted for the death of one addict this year as against five deaths during the first six months last year.

The change in this drug death scenario in the state is being attributed to the extensive anti-drug campaign in 2005 by the Young Mizo Association (YMA), the state’s largest NGO.

The volunteers ruthlessly cracked down upon those who were confirmed addicts and drug peddlers and a huge bulk of drugs were seized and burnt. Though the YMA volunteers sometimes resorted to excessively stringent methods, the people in Mizoram lent their support to the campaign.

The excise department acknowledged the role played by the YMA in curbing the intake of drugs by the Mizos, especially by a section of the youth.

The gravity of the drug menace in Mizoram could be gauged by a study of the death toll owing to the intake of drugs. While 143 people died owing to a drug overdose in 2003, the death toll slid down marginally to 136 the next year.

According to a document released by the state excise department, 1,092 people, including 109 women, mostly youths, died of drug intake since April 1984.

State NGOs pointed out that drug abuse in Mizoram had considerably aggravated after the state government clamped prohibition in February 1997.

Though some NGOs and government departments have been advocating the withdrawal of the blanket ban on liquor to get rid of the clandestine sale of hooch, the present MNF government in the state is finding it difficult to rescind prohibition as the powerful Church lobby is rooting for it.