New leaf for liquor and drug addicts

S. M. Wijayaratne Kurunegala corresponden

In order to rehabilitate the liquor and drug addicts of the Kurunegala and Puttalam districts of the NWP, a special program has been launched by the NWP Health Services Department in collaboration with the Department of social services of the NWP-PC.

Accordingly, liquor addicts would be treated at base hospitals of the NWP for a period of two weeks under a residential rehabilitation program.

NWP Provincial Social Services officer D. Subaratne, told the Daily News that 5,000 liquor and drug addicts would be thus treated during this year and these victims would be educated on the ills of drug addiction by way of counselling services and the NWP-PC has allocated Rs. 1.5 million for this project.

He said that most of drug and liquor addicts come from Samurdhi families and these householders are reported to have ruined their family members' future due to severe addiction to liquor and hard drugs.