Drug abuse continues to be the biggest threat facing future generations of Jammu and Kashmir. Reports about the prevalence of the abuse among youth and school-going children are alarming.
It is true that the abuse is a global health and social problem with conditions and causes that vary locally. It remains a prominent issue of mortality across the world and consumed the lives of millions of people.
The use of psychoactive substances among adolescents and young adults has become a subject of public concern worldwide for varied consequences.
In Jammu and Kashmir context, as experts would say, the geographical location helps in the easy availability of drugs in the J&K. Drug abuse has been linked to stress. The overall crisis naturally play a role but other factors like peer pressure, unemployment, easy availability of the drugs and the fact that no one wants to talk about the issue, remains the area of concern.
Between 2000 and early 2008, the substance abuse was seen mostly in the age group of 18-35 and limited to the use of medicinal opioids, the expert says. However, a decade down the line, the addiction has reached as low as 10-year-olds getting into solvent abuse. It is in schools that they are getting introduced to cannabis now.
Cannabis is considered a gateway drug, a common medical parlance used to describe substances that supposedly lead users on to more addictive or dangerous drugs.
The covid-19 crisis could become apposite to those dealing with illicit trade who only want and, are unfortunately getting, more people to become their prey.
The fiscal downturn caused by the pandemic may drive more people to substance abuse or leave them vulnerable to involvement in drug trafficking and related crimes.
Vulnerable and marginalized groups, youth, women and the poor have been harmed the most. Now facing more economic and allied crisis in generations, the administration cannot afford to ignore the dangers illicit drugs pose to public health and safety. There is a need to stop the supply, sale and purchase of drugs, destroy the crops locally grown and completely stop cultivation of such crops and devise a plan by which people of different age groups can be targeted and made aware of the consequences of drug abuse. There is also a need to create sufficient infrastructure and upgrade the facilities for De-addiction and rehabilitation of those already addicted. Society has to come forward as it is not for the government alone to battle it out.
Drug Abuse
