Srinagar, Sept. 15 -- Drug abuse treatment in India has long been defined by short-term interventions. Detoxification, counselling and discharge were treated as the conclusion of care. The new rehabilitation framework introduced in Jammu and Kashmir rejects that model. It binds recovery to a three-year cycle that continues after the patient leaves the hospital, placing responsibility on the system rather than the individual.

The scheme creates a case file that follows the patient through education, skill training, job placement, and scheduled follow-ups. A social welfare official, not a doctor, becomes the case manager, ensuring continuity across medical and social domains. Relapse is recognised as a health condition to be managed, not a...