Drug injecting in Manipur, India. The Burma connection.

ABSTRACT

PIP 25% of India's HIV positive cases come from the northeast states of Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland, which have only 3% of the country's total population. The reason is access to Burmese heroin just over the border, which is poorly monitored. The Meiteis, Kukis, and Nagas ethnic groups are known for their young people's involvement with drug use in urban as well as rural areas. True rehabilitation programs are in small numbers. There are a few noncoercive 12-step Narcotics Anonymous type centers and counseling programs in Manipur; the Kripa Foundation is one such small program. Examples of other treatment include a Christian group program which chains addicts by the ankles or incarcerates addicts on petty theft charges in order to make available to them detoxification and vocational training. Jails such as the one of Imphal run experiments in herbal medicine and "sweat therapy" for addicts. Clearly, there is a need for a greater investment in addict rehabilitation.^ieng