On 19th March, the committee met with teachers and students of Lhuentse Higher Secondary School. During the meeting, the students expressed their concerns about the easy availability of tobacco and alcohol for minors in shops and marijuana in the Dzongkhag. They also called for a review on whether the tradition of home brewed alcohol should be continued as it continues to harm families' lives.

The students recommended the legal age for alcohol and tobacco consumption to be increased from 18 to 21 years like some other countries. They also recommended "uprooting marijuana" to address substance abuse at the community level in the Dzongkhag.

On 20th March, the committee met with the Dzongdag, Officer Commanding, Local Government leaders, and sector heads of Lhuentse Dzongkhag. The Dzongdag emphasized the role of parents in guiding their children. The Dzongkhag Education Officer outlined initiatives like mentor-mentee programs, parenting education, awareness campaigns, and values-based education. The OC reported that drug cases in Lhuentse are low, with only four student marijuana cases from 2022 to 2025, all of whom are referred to the SUD center. Challenges reported included delays in the bail process, causing some youth to become a repeat offender.

The 2024 situational analysis for Lhuentse revealed concerning figures related to student substance abuse: 494 students were identified as mild substance abusers, 187 students as moderate abusers, and 416 students as severe abusers.

Local Government leaders noted the rising issue of alcohol abuse, especially the consumption of local factory produced alcohol, and emphasized the need for increased awareness and advocacy programs to address this growing concern.

In the afternoon, the committee met with the medical officials of Lhuentse District Hospital. Dr. Thinley Wangmo, GDMO of Lhuentse Hospital, reported a sharp rise in alcohol-related cases in 2023 and 2024, including acute intoxication, withdrawal, gastritis, and Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD), with alcohol accounting for 5% of hospital admissions.

Discussions were made on the need for stronger regulations, improving community awareness, enhancing collaboration with Local Leaders, and establishing local rehabilitation services, as detox alone has a high relapse rate of 70-80%. The hospital cited the lack of clinical counselor, essential medications, and specialized staff as deterrents to providing timely medical assistance.

The full details will be shared in the upcoming summer session. This tour was made possible with the support of UNICEF.