MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was marked in an area home to drug addicts in northern Balkh province on Wednesday.
The Balkh counter-narcotics department arranged a photo exhibition in connection with the day in Dasht Shor area of Mazar-i-Sharif City where drug addicts have been staying.
Mohammad Rahim Rahmani, director of the department, told Pajhwok Afghan News on the margins of the exhibition that they marked the day in public in order addicts could also attend.
He said the event was aimed at highlighting the agony of addicted individuals, damages and losses. He blamed drug use on joblessness, conflict and easy access to drugs.
Zikrullah, a drug user at the exhibition, said he got addicted to drugs 11 years ago during migration in Greece.
He lost parents in childhood. “I left home and started living under Pul-i-Sukhta in Kabul; but police and people forced me to come back to Mazar-i-Sharif City and stay in Dasht-i-Hadira area.”
He hoped he would be able to recover, rehabilitated and become a normal person.
Younis Darmal, a civil society (MoPH) to accelerate its efforts at treating addicts.
Dr. Dawud Ratib, director of the main rehabilitation centre in Mazar-i-Sharif, said about 270 beds were available at his hospital but the number of addicts was far higher.
Citing a 2012 survey, he said, there were more than 80, 000 drug addicts in Balkh and their number might be much higher today. “We have no right to treat an addict forcibly, but we can help those willing to be rehabilitated.”
Deputy police chief Abdul Raziq Qaderi to a question told Pajhwok: “We could not arrest an addict nor can misbehave with them according to law because they are patients and should be treated accordingly.”
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