Jammu and Kashmir once known as land saints has now become land of Drug addicts. Kashmir has taken over Punjab in drug addiction. The ugly reality of Drug addiction hides a very bitter reality. The Union Government has revealed a grim picture of the growing drug menace in Jammu and Kashmir, with over 1.12 lakh kilograms of narcotic drugs seized and nearly 10,000 individuals arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act since 2018. The minister said the data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicates a sharp escalation in drug seizures from 2018 to 2020, followed by a gradual decline in the years that followed. In 2018, a total of 19,353 kilogrammes of narcotics were seized along with 87,713 units and nearly 8,000 litres of psychotropic substances. The number of arrests under the NDPS Act followed a similar trend. In 2018, 1,460 individuals were arrested, with the number rising to 1,884 in 2019. Although there was a slight dip in 2020, arrests surged again in 2021 and reached a five-year high in 2022 with 3,453 people apprehended for narcotics-related offences. Meanwhile, the Drug Treatment Clinic at the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) Kashmir reported 3,207 new registrations in 2021–22, followed by 3,334 in 2022–23. The number dropped to 1,457 in 2023–24, and 1,389 patients were registered up to January 2025. In total, IMHANS Kashmir has treated 9,387 patients for drug addiction. While as the ministry reviled the addition statics. It also reviled the deaths due to drug addiction. As per government statics which it reviled in the Lok Sabha that since 2018, at least 17 suicides have been linked to drug abuse and alcohol addiction in Jammu and Kashmir. The data underscores the depth of the crisis and the urgent need for a more robust, community-driven response to tackle addiction and its consequences.
The geographically placed and the sharing of boarders has made Kashmir a place where drugs are easily available. Making its way from Kupwara to whole Kashmir . Drug peddlers find it very easy to transport it from one place to another. I fail to understand how do these peddlers get a Green corridor, that they are able to reach to other districts , especially to Srinagar. In an interview regarding drug addition DIG level officer of Jammu and Kashmir said a very deep line . He said “We are not boarders and till it reaches here its already distributed”. A statement that explains so much.
Drug addicts have there explanation of getting into drug addiction to becoming a drug dealer . For becoming a dealer a very common statement is given “It makes arrangements for my own consumption”. One of the drug addicts in an interview to an independent news portal said he become a peddler , because he wanted to clean the system. He saw his friends using Shoes polish , used sanitary pads , dirty socks and other things . He wanted them to use clean things , for him clean things include “Heroin” . So to make it easily available and make it available for him easily, he became a peddler. How easily its to become a peddler . He wanted to become and now he’s a paddler. The addiction has become such a common thing that in every 12 minutes a drug addict walks in a drug DE-addiction center in Srinagar . There was a single DE-addiction in Kashmir now the number has grown up-to 4 and more have been increased . The problem of addiction is on massive growth. With addiction becoming a problem other problems like HIV, Hepatitis A,B,C,D and other diseases are on rise . Using of used injunctions is cause of HIV and other problems. One of the major reasons why the addicts aren’t put behind bars is their damaged kidneys . The addictions damages their kidneys to 70%, 80% and even to 90%. They are so venerable to deaths that no one wants to take any risk. A single hit from a stick can lead to their death and no one wants to take a dead on him. The are let go thinking their time is near , the nature will take care of them. Drug addiction has lead in increase in thefts and stanching . These drugs cost too much and having that much available isn’t possible for everyone. And even a well to do drug addict at some point reaches to a point where he has to get into theft. Once someone becomes addicted He/ She needs it everyday , some need it even twice a day. This addiction has ruined many happy families and have made them forgotten how to smile. The Over dosing often leads to deaths. They are often found dead on road sides on in drains . The whole process of drugs is very scary and soul shivering .
Every drug addict has story. Some become addicts after failing in love , while some became addicts because they had friends offered them and some got into addictions because of family issues. Unemployment is one of the major reasons of drug addiction. The environment is also playing a very serious role in the growing drug addiction. The easily availability of drugs can’t be ignored. It must ring alarm bells. How a drug like Heroin is easily available that anyone can lay hand on it.
The issue has to be addressed on personally by each and every person . Leaving it to Government will leave it unaddressed for decades . We are just some seconds of the time bomb to blast that we are sitting on. It’s now or never.
—The writer is a law student and Human rights defender.
Now, Not Later
By: RAQIF MAKHDOOMI
