An awareness ceremony about the harms of drugs was held in Kabul on Monday, 17 February 2021. The purpose of the ceremony was to raise awareness among young people about the harms of drugs, protect them from this deadly disease, strengthen the family foundation, and prevent the consequences of drugs. The ceremony was attended by scholars, ethnic leaders, and officials from the Ministry of Interior’s Counter Narcotics Office.
Officials from the Ministry of Interior’s Counter Narcotics Office said at the ceremony that there are three and a half to four million addicts in the country. They assured that Afghanistan will soon be free of drugs. According to them, using drugs is easy, but quitting is very difficult, and it threatens individual and social health and shortens the lives of young addicts.
The officials said that using, transporting, and cultivating drugs is completely prohibited and violators will be dealt with legally. They assured that drugs will soon be completely eradicated from Afghanistan, and awareness campaigns are underway in the country’s districts and Kabul areas through mosques, tribal elders, lawyers, and scholars. According to Maulvi Shamsullah Rashad, head of the Counter-Narcotics Coordination, scholars and influential figures must fulfill their responsibilities in this regard.
Maulvi Abdul Rahman Qasemi, the civilian deputy of the Counter Narcotics Agency, assured that Afghanistan will soon be free from the drug problem. He said that the government will spend huge amounts of money to treat addicts.
At the ceremony, Hojjatoleslam Nematullah Alizadeh said that drugs are forbidden according to the Holy Quran and the Prophet’s Sunnah because they destroy a person’s life and cause family and social insecurity.
According to health experts, drugs affect the entire human being and reduce the life expectancy of young people by 32%.
Ali Ahmad Yousefi, the president of Kateb University, assured at the ceremony that universities have special programs to combat drugs. Including scientific competitions, book reading, research and sports competitions.
Dr. Abbas Ali, a researcher at the health department
At the ceremony, he said that drugs affect the entire life of an addict. According to him, sports, education and strengthening of moral and Islamic values, strengthening relations between scientific centers, launching awareness programs, imposing heavy taxes on cigarettes and tobacco, and providing employment opportunities for youth play an important role in drug prevention.
