Magistrate sees need for alcohol, drugs rehab centres

THERE is an urgent need to build rehabilitation centres for people addicted to alcohol, a court has been told.
Mt Hagen District Court magistrate Jacinta Doa said alcohol abuse was a growing concern in the country.
She said that in Papua New Guinea, many people drank excessively from night to daybreak and into the next day.
“This is a problem where we need to have rehabilitation centres to change the way our people are drinking alcohol,” she said.
She said there was no control over the consumption of alcohol which contributed to social problems and fatal accidents on roads.
She said marijuana was another problem that contributed to social issues.
Doa said that the advice was for people to drink fewer than six glasses of beer after a hard day’s work, but that was not the case with many people who were more likely to binge drink.
“Most people drank more than eight bottles just to get drunk and some even continue drinking till daybreak,” she said.
Doa said marijuana caused permanent damage to the brain, yet many youths still use it.
“Even if you stop smoking marijuana, the damage done to your body is permanent and you still live with it,” she said.
Doa said community leaders like councillors and village court magistrates should carry out awareness programmes in their community to help discourage young people from cultivating, selling and smoking marijuana.
She said rehab centres were needed to help marijuana users .