Agencies in countries as far away as Bhutan in Asia and cities as close to home as your local police and sheriff departments are struggling to find effective drug education programs. Preventing drug abuse is far easier than treating and rehabilitating drug addicts, but the key is effective drug education.
In a recent article in the Bhutan Times, the writer discusses measures that have been taken by the Bhutan Narcotic Control Agency (BNCA) to curb drug use in their kingdom. Concerns about drug use are high because it primarily affects the country’s youth, and because of a rising trend of oral and injectable consumption of pharmaceuticals like dextro-propoxyphene based drugs, synthetic opioids.
So in this landlocked country in Southern Asia, bordering China, and approximately half the size of Indiana, how do drugs infiltrate the population, and moreover, how does one stop them from taking hold of the youth?
The author of this article in the Bhutan Times asks the BNCA director, Kinley Dorji, “What do you think are the main reasons for increasing drug use in Bhutan?”
His response points to the universal need for effective drug education. He says that it is difficult to comment on the reasons for drug use in Bhutan in the absence of scientific evidences. But he thinks the lack of drug education, drug free entertainment, and easy access to alcohol and marijuana, among other things are responsible. Additionally, the lack of education and options for self direction and self development are lacking he thinks. He points to parents and teachers and their roles and responsibilities in bringing up children with drug free ideologies.
Further, when asked about the roles that parents and teachers play a role in curbing drug abuse by young people in Bhutan, Director Dorji commented once again on the need for effective drug education.
The World Health Organization (WHO) currently sponsors international efforts to educate people on the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse so that there are fewer addicted people who need treatment. The WHO notes that more than 2.5 million people die each year just from alcohol-related causes. More than 300,000 of these people losing their lives are young people who died far before their time. The WHO states that alcohol abuse is one of the leading risk factors for poor health. Through the distribution of more information on the dangers of drug abuse and excessive alcohol abuse, the WHO follows a strategy of improving the health of the peoples of this world through education and prevention.
This is good advice for anyone trying to combat drug abuse, and reflects the philosophy of many drug prevention and rehabilitation programs. In particular, the Narconon program focuses on effective drug education as the primary tool for drug abuse prevention.
There are no Narconon meetings to attend, but Narconon has drug education and prevention centers in more than 120 locations around the world that are prepared to deliver effective presentations, and over 50 drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers on six continents of the world.
Please read the following article to see how effective drug education from Narconon differs from many other drug education programs: http://www.narconon-news.org/program/narconon-drug-education-program.html.
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http://www.bhutantimes.bt/index.php?option=com_content
http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/activities/gsrhua/en/index.html