Discuss the role of de-stigmatisation and community participation in tackling substance-use disorders among youth.

Substance-use disorder is a chronic, relapsing health condition, yet stigma pushes young users into hiding. The Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) is run by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and was launched in 2020. It relies on compassion and community action and has reached 35+ crore people, including 13.94 crore youth [1]. These two levers can turn awareness into recovery.

Role of De-stigmatisation

• Early help-seeking: When addiction is seen as an illness rather than a moral failing, families call the 14446 de-addiction helpline instead of hiding the problem [1].
• Treatment uptake: India has about 2.26 crore opioid users and 3.1 crore cannabis users [3]. Shame keeps most of them outside care.
• Reintegration: Compassionate attitudes help recovering youth return to study and work with dignity [1]. This reduces the isolation that feeds relapse.
• Legal support: Under Section 64A of the NDPS Act, addicts who volunteer for treatment are not prosecuted [4].

Role of Community Participation

• Peer influence: Nashamukt Mitras (peer volunteers) take the message to young people in campuses. NMBA has reached 32 lakh+ educational institutions [1].
• Families and women: NMBA has reached 10.86 crore women through women's groups [1]. Mothers and these groups can spot early warning signs at home.
• Whole-of-Society approach: Local bodies and NGOs can refer users to the 344 IRCAs (Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts) and 76 drop-in centres (ODICs) [5].

Limitations

• Mixed messages: Section 27 of the NDPS Act still makes drug use a crime [4]. The Standing Committee on Finance (2011-12) kept it as a deterrent [6]. Fear of arrest discourages people from disclosing their drug use.
• Treatment gap: Only about 6.47 lakh people were treated in 2024-25 [2], against 35 crore reached by awareness work [1].
• Activity metrics: Outreach counts show how many people were reached. They do not show how many recovered [1].

De-stigmatisation opens the door to help, and community participation guides young people through it. Together they turn drug control from a policing drive into a social movement. The way forward is to:

• expand treatment capacity as fast as outreach grows;
• make Section 64A protection harder to lose after a relapse;
• measure recovery, not just headcounts.

A health-first approach fulfils Article 47 and SDG target 3.5, and keeps India's youth healthy on the path to Viksit Bharat @2047.