Partners drive rise in drug addiction among Kelantan women

KOTA BARU: Partners, particularly husbands and boyfriends, drove an increase in drug addiction among women in Kelantan last year, with cases rising to 598 from 526 the previous year.

National Anti-Drugs Agency director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said a study found that life stress was the main factor acknowledged by all respondents, with most cases stemming from marital conflicts and husbands' behaviour that frequently triggered problems.

"This situation pushes women to use drugs as a coping mechanism to forget their anxiety and emotional pain caused by their partners," he told Bernama recently.

Ruslin said that apart from emotional stress, women were also often subjected to psychological manipulation by partners who normalised drug use on the grounds that it could enhance beauty and productivity.

"They were also influenced by those closest to them to believe that stimulant-type drugs could help with weight management, flatten the stomach after childbirth and provide extra energy to complete household chores faster.

"The reality on the ground shows that women's involvement in drug abuse in the state rarely occurs in isolation; on the contrary, the risk of involvement becomes significantly higher when they live in a family environment where a member, particularly a husband, is also a drug user," he said.

He said this cycle was made worse by factors such as neglect and loneliness, especially following divorce or a breakdown in relationships, which caused women to seek temporary solace through illicit substances.

"Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS) were the most widely used illicit substances among women in Kelantan last year, with 557 people, while those aged 19 to 39 recorded the highest number of drug abuse cases, involving 409 individuals.

"Drug addiction among women in Kelantan is often a manifestation of interpersonal stress and manipulation by partners in an unhealthy domestic ecosystem," he said.

He said the agency also measured the effectiveness and achievements of its Community-Based Treatment and Rehabilitation programme based on the Client Recovery Index, with female clients in Kelantan recording an achievement rate of 76.4 per cent last year.

"Of the 55 female clients assessed, 42 achieved a level of recovery in the good and excellent categories. This figure reflects the effectiveness of the recovery centre's support and the active involvement of families in helping female clients maintain their recovery in the community," he added. -- BERNAMA