Increasing number of addicts worries Zaranj citizens

ZARANJ (Pajhwok): Residents of Zaranj, the capital of northwestern Nimroz province, are complaining about the increase in the number of addicts on roads of the city.

They say after the fall of the previous regime, the treatment of addicts in clinics of the province has been stopped.

According to the Nimroz Public Health Department, there are currently about 15,000 addicts in the province, about 1,000 of them are women and children and the rest are men.

Residents’ concern about increasing addicts on roads

Ibrahim, a resident of Zaranj, expressed concern about the increase in the number of addicts on the city’s roads and streets, saying that the number of addicts may increase if this problem is not addressed.

“In the previous government, there were treatment camps for addicts to quit. We did not see a crowd of addicts in the city, but now the order of the city has been changed by these addicts.”

“The majority of robberies are committed by addicts and we call on the government to reactivate the clinics,” he said, calling for an end to the presence of addicts in the streets.

Meanwhile, another resident, Najib Azimi, said of the increase in street addicts: “The presence of addicts inside the city has disrupted order, worried citizens and increased thefts.”

He says that addiction treatment centers should be more active than before, and addicts should be collected and treated, otherwise they will harm the environment and the people.

Addicts: We want to be treated but they do not treat us

Mohammad Ali, 45, who has been addicted to drugs for 20 years, told Pajhwok Afghan News that addiction has taken all happiness of his life.

“I want to be treated, but they do not admit me to hospital and say it is not possible,” he said.

Mohammad Ali, who was deported from Iran few months ago and now in a bad condition, said: “I want to be treated, but what can I do if the hospital did not take me? They said that their ward has been deactivated.”

Meanwhile, Nasser, another addict in the first district of Zaranj, says that ten years ago, when he went to work in Iran, he became addicted to drugs, but twice tried to quit in that country, but he did not succeed.

Both of these addicts wish that one day they would quit their addiction and return to their normal lives, and asked the government to provide them with treatment and hospitalization.

They said that if the addiction clinics do not resume operations, the number of criminal cases in the province will increase.

But Khalil Shah Kazemi, head of addiction treatment clinics in Nimroz, told Pajhwok Afghan News that due to lack of funds, addicts’ treatment clinics have been deactivated.

“Patients who are in a hurry come to the relevant wards inside the hospital and they are prescribed medication and treated at home,” he added.

According to him, there are three addiction treatment centers in the province, including two for males and one for females.

He says that at present, all three centers are only active in the counseling and prescribing department, and their inpatient department is closed.

sa/ma

 

 

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