“Mostly, the students who get admitted in the de-addiction centers are addicted to Fevicol, ink erasers and cannabis”
ZUHAIB YOUSF MIR
“What if you had to wake up every day and think if today was the day your family member or a loved one or a friend was going to die?” as a matter of fact this is not just a rhetorical question but the manifestation of how our Kashmir is going to be due to rampant proliferation of drug abuse across the state , and worst so amongst the youth. The disdain is such that drug addiction has caused parents to outlive their children, has resulted sisters to mourn their siblings.It causes jail time and homelessness. It causes an absence before the exit . You will see your loved one walking and talking, but the truth is, they will sever from you far before they actually succumb to the evil drug abuse. and the condition is such that the news of vague obituaries is going to be adopted with. the word “died suddenly” can haunt the valley due to drug abuse . So before we reach that level let us see what causes it , what is letting it grow, how could we recuperate those suffering from this unfortunate termite that is sucking the youth of Kashmir hollow and finally what should be preventive measures .
There are a variety of reasons for drug addiction amongst the youth. one such reason is the family history where people are more likely to use drugs if someone in their family uses drugs. As per the research done in the united states if a person’s parents are alcoholics, they are four times more likely than the general population to have alcohol problems . Substance use disorders can be inherited due to a complex mix of social, environmental and biological factors. Maybe a person lived or spent time with an adult who was using, and learned about the habit from them. Maybe a child’s parents were absent most of their life , but despite all best intentions, the child ended up as a drug abuser . “The children who get involved mostly face lack of family supervision. The father leaves for office in the morning, mother too leaves and they hardly see what their children are doing,” said Yasir Arafat Zahgeer, who runs a private de-addiction centre in Srinagar, Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses. and living in a conflict zone like kashhmir where the youth is unemployed , every third family has a widowed mother and absolute apathy from the administrative end to resolve such issues makes a young boy or a girl vulnerable to such socially unacceptable activities.
The supply has to commensurate the demand , if the drug users are growing at and unprecedented rate in Kashmir then of course the peddlers and drug mafia are growing too. In fact this problem has to be tackled at various levels. The pattern of drug consumption among schoolchildren is mostly with volatile solvents such as fluids, Fevicol, and cannabis among the rural children. “Mostly, the students who get admitted in the de-addiction centers are addicted to Fevicol, ink erasers and cannabis” said Dr Muzaffar at SMHS. Such addictions are easily available at any bookshop of a provisional store so a lot of responsibility is in the hands of the society there to cross check incessant users . apparently shoe polish is a famous form of drug as well . So major awareness is needed on this front. Then there are serious substance abusers and their intake is category H medicine such as corex, morphine etc . If we look at the postulate number 17 of the drug policy of J&K it states “Schedule- H drugs shall be strictly dispensed on the prescription of Registered Medical Practitioners.” Such drugs are being sold at chemist shops in Kashmir and nobody objects?
What for we need these medicines in such a quantity every time? Why are they easily available? Even those drugs which are only allowed in Operation Theater are easily available. It is a matter of business and not a matter of concern. we absolutely cannot pigeonhole this issue at all. Finally comes the cultivators of hash , ganja etc which is easy money for many but unfortunately at the cost of the society.
If I as a layman can assert such obvious reasons for such malpractices then I am certain that our own intelligent police are aware about it and its happening under their nose. Now the question arises if they are letting it happen out of corruption or due to strong-arming of the major stakeholders involved . In any of the cases it is unfortunate and serious measures are supposed to be taken on this front. Life of an addict and the ostracization that comes with it is not easy . People have a way of sidelining those who suffer from addiction. They call them “trash,” “junkies” “criminals”, or “smackies” which is not the truth in majority of the cases . Addiction is an illness. Addicts have families and aspirations. one should know that that drug addiction doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care if the addict came from a loving home or a broken family.
One of the most important and fundamental preventive measures is that the parents in the contemporary times forge a good friendly relationship with their children and be aware about what the child is up to all the time. It is extremely important that parents themselves get educated about alcohol and drugs. One cannot rely on the myths and misconceptions.
Drug addiction doesn’t care if you are religious or an atheist . Drug addiction doesn’t care if you are a valedictorian or a drop-out. It doesn’t care what ethnicity you are. Drug addiction will show you that one decision and one lapse in judgment can alter the course of an entire life. so we need to kill the addiction not torture or pigeonhole the person. these are our children who need to be loved more care for more just like any other ill person because alienation is detrimental and can worsen the situation. one must know Willpower alone cannot beat this disorder.
Experts agree that individual will power alone is not enough to beat drug use. Instead, treatment programs that are tailored to each individual’s drug use patterns and social and psychological problems are what’s needed to help people recover from substance use and most importantly the love of the family. but its unfortunate that we just have 3 rehabilitation centers in Kashmir and out of which one is the private therapy centre with just 40 beds capacity. this is the most important area of concern and has to be given importance especially after in September 2015 the Late Mufti Mohammed Syeed directed the police and the health department to increase their intake capacity of drug abusers and formulate a comprehensive policy tackle this problem before this unprecedented tide drowns the society.
One of the most important and fundamental preventive measures is that the parents in the contemporary times forge a good friendly relationship with their children and be aware about what the child is up to all the time. It is extremely important that parents themselves get educated about alcohol and drugs. One cannot rely on the myths and misconceptions. Childs ability to make the right decisions includes the parents g etting e ducated fi rst a bout this evil. And, as you learn, share what you are learning with your friends and your family. Secondly, there is dire need of awareness camps at schools so that students could be prevented from getting into pernicious activities . “People who seek help with us are just a drop in the ocean.
We need to address the problem at the grassroots level. Schools can play a larger role in getting students out of this addiction,” said a drug deaddi- ction expert. Actually most of the schools are in denial that such a problem exists , they need to recognize this and vehemently campaign against drug addiction. Finally the political class and the religious clergies have to come out strongly against such practices if we want our pious land to regain its piety.
Zuhaib Yousf Mir MSc Economics University of Edinburgh
