DRUG ABUSE
Drugs are chemicals that change the way a person’s body or mind works. Drugs are depressants that slow down the functions of the central nervous system. When a person is addicted to a drug, the drug becomes so important that the person cannot live without it.
Before I may start, I would like to tell you one story of a boy who was excellent in studies throughout his school years, had always been a topper and was good at football too. When he was 15 and in junior college, unknowingly he made friendship with a bad friend from the same college who was into substance abuse. Soon he was addicted too. Though he was from a well-to-do family, when he started falling short of money to buy marijuana, he started stealing money to feed his addiction. Later, he was not only taking drugs but was also selling them to his college friends. Six months ago, he was hospitalized at a rehabilitation center.
Curiosity, kick and fun—some of the factors that pull youths into their ‘first-time’. By the time they discover the trap they have gotten into—which may take from a few months to several years—it’s too late. While college authorities may deny, drug abuse is gradually gripping city students. City-based rehabilitation centers and counsellors unanimously say that the youth have moved on from charas-ganja and are abusing all kinds of drugs. While there is hope at the end of the tunnel, the recovery is slow and there are possibilities of a relapse too in some cases.
For 100 years, the so called 'war on drugs" has waged. Thousands and thousands of people have lost their lives, few of that number being actual addicts. Billions have been spent, yet the rates of addiction and drug sales are going nowhere but up-Why? Every day in INDIA, another loved one of an addict finds themselves asking that question, "Why?" It is the same question asked by the world-renowned author of the book "Chasing the Scream", Johann Hari, when she set out on her eye-opening 30,000-mile journey around the globe to find the answer. What she found was astonishing. Everything that society has been taught, everything that people think they know and everything that is believed about the war on drugs," as well as addiction, is wrong.
Take a moment and consider, is it really the drug that is the nurturer? Or the world in which the addict is living. However, the word, "why," penetrates that fabric that has been woven for society that says. "This behavior is caused by the substance and the mind of the person. "Many now believe that addiction is a cage, not the substance and not the addict.
Drugs are common due to many factors such as bad friendship, stress, peer pressure, curiosity, failure depression, unemployment, addiction and many more.
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In India too, more than 90% of people who have an addiction started to drink alcohol or use drugs before they were 18 years old. India reported almost 2.3 crore opioid users in 2018, which was a five-fold jump in 14 years. The maximum growth was reported in consumption of heroin. In 2004, the number of opium users (20,000) was more than twice that of heroin (9,000). Some 12 years later, trends reversed, and number of heroin users went up to 2.5 lakh, almost double than opium consumers There is a substantial increase of 60% in death rate (168,000) in recent years as compared to the year 2000 (105,000).
The use of illegal cannabis in India is much lower than the global average - less than one-third. However, opioid use is three times higher than the worldwide average. The AIIMS survey shows that in 2018, nearly 2.1 per cent of the population (about 2.3 crore) had used opioids.
FACTS about DRUG ABUSE
According to UNODC, India accounts for 10 percent of the total pharmaceuticals produced in the world.
The study also states that 88 percent of the children consumed drugs due to “peer pressure”. There are around 430 drug dependence treatment centers throughout the country
Roughly 60 percent of all illicit drugs confiscated in India are seized in Punjab.
The alarming spike in the number of people using prescription drug cocktails which are up to 10 times cheaper, and often easily available at neighborhood chemists.
According to a UN report, one million heroin addicts are registered in India, and unofficially there are as many as five millions.
Around 75% tried to quit but didn’t receive any treatment.
Odisha apparently has a growing number of drug addicts. In the State, 40 per cent kids use inhalants and less than 15 per cent children use heroin.
Odisha has second-highest number of Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for Addicts (IRCAs) after Maharashtra
Drug sharing has multiple occurrences. The spread of drugs from one to another is done in some or other way.
Around 13% school & college students are on drugs addiction.
The percentage of cocaine-related overdose deaths increased by 34% from 2016 to 2017.
Inhalants contribute to about 15% of deaths by suffocation every year.
CASE STUDY
Lariapalli, a small tribal village in Odisha which once had an addiction rate of 90%, today received a National Award for outstanding services in the field of Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drug) Abuse, 2018. Over the last 3 years, this Gram Panchayat that used to consume 2.4 quintals of alcohol per day, now consumes 0 units of alcohol.
Typically, men are more likely to abuse illicit drugs and alcohol – 11.5% of males over 12 have a substance use disorder, compared to 6.4% of females.
Girls between the ages of 12 and 17 are more likely to misuse all types of prescription opioids and stimulants than boys of the same age.
Approximately 20% of men have an alcohol use disorder (AUD) compared to between 7% and 12% of women
Moreover, most countries have reported a rise in the use of cannabis during the pandemic. In surveys of health professionals across 77 countries, 42 per cent asserted that cannabis use had increased. A rise in the non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs has also been observed in the same period.
Around 275 million people used drugs worldwide in the last year, while over 36 million people suffered from drug use disorders, according to the 2021 World Drug Report, released today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).Drug use increased far more rapidly among developing countries over the 2000-2018 period than in developed countries. Adolescents and young adults account for the largest share of those using drugs, while young people are also the most vulnerable to the effects of drugs because they use the most and their brains are still developing.
EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE
It not only has loss of coordination, slowed reflexes, poor judgement or memory loss but it can have fatal health and mental issues in the body also.
In India not many states have been reported to have most cases but isn’t that a need for change.
According to the world drug report, as the theme of 2021 suggests that is Share drug facts on drugs to save lives, the WHO has also estimated some information that is listed in the following slides.
CONCLUSION
Drug addiction is a complex but treatable disease. An effective way to get rid of drugs is to have good companions, involvement in games and social activities, reading books, etc. In today’s busy life which is full of stress, everyone is looking to find ways to please and relax himself/ herself.
Drug abuse is a growing problem, especially among the youth. There are many reasons that lead to this problem and the impact it has is extremely damaging. It is essential to spread awareness about the negative repercussions of drugs to discourage their use. Those gripped by this problem must consult a doctor and seek help from those close to them to come out of the hellish world of drug abuse.
There is a need to organize awareness programme in educational institutions. Protecting children from drug abuse has to be considered the most essential and urgent need for creating a ‘World fit for Children’.
Hence let us all take the pledge to abstain from the use of drugs and save the younger generation from the clutches of the drug menace.
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CREDITS : Monalisha Deb
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