– Satyakam Ray

Recently, one guy in Chandigarh was seen standing like a dead person, not moving or reacting to conversation, just standing blankly. He was supposedly taken the zombie drug, fentanyl. The streets of the USA in many states and a few streets of Canada are full of people just like this, standing like dead after drug abuse. This zombie drug has allegedly reached India. In India, other drugs and nicotine abuse have been widespread.

According to the national survey (2019), around 16 crore people are current alcohol users, 3.1 crore individuals use cannabis, 2.26 crore people use opioids, 1.18 crore people use sedatives, and an estimated 8.5 lakh people are injecting drug users. The most affected states are the North-eastern states, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Chhattisgarh. While mostly men are addicted to substance abuse, around 90 lakh women use alcohol, 40 lakh use cannabis, and 20 lakh use opioids. The data from the recent survey can be devastating in numbers.

One can question why so many people are addicted to substances.

• The youth are vulnerable to drug abuse as it gives them momentary pleasure. The penchant to remain high, peer pressure are the main reasons behind this.
• Adolescents and children are prone to drug abuse due to ignorance and a curious nature.
• A few people use medical painkillers to reduce pain in serious illnesses, and that becomes a routine, an addiction.
• The partygoers use substances for validation and peer pressure.
• Criminals and sex workers use them as part of their work/gig.

There can be so many other reasons for drug abuse in India.

What do we need to do to eradicate drug abuse?

• The drug peddlers need to be caught and punished by the police and the narcotics department.
• The spread of drugs and ganja needs to be stopped across educational institutions.
• Drug rehab centers should be established in vulnerable areas that encourage addicts to seek help.
• The government should help addicts with counselors to change their minds.
• The Parents, teachers, and society should help these drug victims by monitoring them or guiding them to the mainstream of society.

Public awareness and vigilance are needed to solve the problem of drug abuse. The future of India lies in the hands of the youth. So, many enemy nations are supplying these drugs to India to destroy the youth. The BSF and police in border states should monitor drug smuggling seriously. A lot can be done in drug abuse cases to keep them in sanity.