Omkar Dattatray
Unfortunately Jammu and Kashmir UT is reeling and grappling in drug addiction and abuse and the situation has assumed alarming proportions and it is a matter of grave and serious concern .In fact J&K is becoming capital of drug addiction in whole of north India and if steps are not taken to check and control drug addiction and abuse ,it will lead to a situation which will be catastrophic for the people especially the youth who have taken to drugs and have become drug addicts and it may spread doom for the ever increasing number of people falling prey to drug addiction .The growing number of drug addicts are becoming a burden on their families and in fact upon the society and concerted efforts should be made to turn them into useful members of the society .At the outset it is in the fitness of things to throw light on what the drug addiction really means .Drug addiction can be defined as out of control use of drugs despite their negative effects upon the physical, mental and overall life of the people who are drug addicts and spoil their life and in fact drug addiction is a social problem and it is necessary to fight and control it with the active involvement of the society as it is the social and moral and even legal responsibilities of the society to fight the menace of drug addiction so that people live a healthy ,purposeful and meaningful life as well as worthy individual and social life .In recent years Jammu and Kashmir in India has seen and undergone an exponential increase in the drug abuse and the situation is bound to explode and cause much loss to the society .According to official data shared by the central government in parliament ,the number of people affected by drug abuse in Jammu and Kashmir has reached nearly 10 lakh, which is around 8% percent of the Jammu and Kashmir population .On 4 August 2023 the standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment has conveyed to the parliament that approximately 13.50 lakh drug users rather abusers are estimated to be in Jammu and Kashmir ,with the majority falling within the age group of 18 to 75 years .According to a recent estimate there are 35 lakh drug addicts in J &K in 2024 and it is more worrisome that children and women are also preying to the menace of drug abuse and their life is in at great risk .According to the UN Office Drugs and Crime ,Jammu and Kashmir has 60,000 drug addicts .In the last three years there has been an increase of 1500 % in the use of drugs. In March 2023 ,Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment stated that approximately one million individuals in the union territory were grappling with substance abuse .The ministry also revealed that over 50% of these individuals were specifically addicts of opioids. As per survey carried out by the J& K administration last year ,over 52,000 individuals in Kashmir acknowledged their heroin usage .The survey findings revealed that ,on average ,a user spent approximately 88,000 rupees per month to sustain their drug habit .According to the doctors at the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences Srinagar -IMHANS ,there has been a transition observed in drug usage patterns .Specifically ,there is a shift away from using medicinal opioids like Codeine ,SP ,Tramadol, and Tapentadol ,towards the more potent and dangerous hardcore drugs ,predominantly intravenous -IV heroin .According to Dr. Yasir Rather ,approximately 70% of drug users test positive for HCV at IMHANS .In 2023,a study conducted by IMHANS revealed that the prevalence of Hepatitis C among drug abusers in Kashmir is 72 percent .The institute received 150 drug addiction cases per day .It also found that over 33 thousand syringes are being used daily for heroin injections .On 12 June 2023,Dr.Farooq Abdullah ,the National Conference President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar ,said that drug addiction or substance abuse have become significant threats to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir. Expressing his worries about the alarming increase in drug addiction cases among the youth, Dr.Farooq called drug abuse a widespread issue in the region .He urged to reflect on this problem. All this shows that drug addiction has assumed alarming proportions as more and more people especially young are falling prey to drug abuse and the life of thousands of people and their families have turned into hell due to the great inroads of drug abuse .The physical and psychological health of the drug addicts has negatively impacted them and there is depression ,tension, frustration and uneasiness among the people who are habitual of drug addiction .Government has established some rehabilitation centers for drug addicts, where, besides doctors not only prescribe medicines for the addicts but also provide rehabilitation services .But there is paucity of the rehabilitation centers and there is pressing to open more such centers as the number of drug addicts is increasing at a fast rate. A pertinent question haunts the mind as to who is responsible for such a large scale drug addiction and abuse in J&K ? Again who is responsible for tormenting the physical ,mental and overall wellbeing of drug addicts ?There is great and immediate need to fight drug addiction in J&K .Government of Jammu and Kashmir is doing its bit to address the serious issue of drug abuse and drug addiction and to be fair government is doing a yeoman’s job to fight drug abuse in the UT .But we should understand that government alone cannot be successful in tackling this serious problem of drug addiction as the people especially the youth are wholly in the grip of drug addiction and abuse .Society should come forward and play its role in curbing drug abuse and drug addiction among the people in J&K .So teachers ,doctors ,religious preachers ,NGO’s ,social activists, NSS volunteers and all prominent citizens should cooperate with the government in its fight with drug addiction. These segments of the civil society should recognize the gravity of the drug addiction menace and they should on their own take steps to fight drug abuse so that people especially youth are not only made aware about the pitfalls and drawbacks of drug addiction and they should be helped to say goodbye to drugs .It is the responsibility of all of us to fight drug abuse in the society so that people are saved from falling in the deep ditch of drug addiction .Governmental initiatives and efforts to curb drug addiction should be supplemented by the societal efforts so that drug addiction is kept under control as it is the social and moral duty of all of us to control drug abuse and free the people especially youth who are in the marshy land of substance abuse and ensure that people live a worthy and meaningful life without falling prey to drugs which has made the life of millions unbearable and hell. .Let us all fight the drug abuse to finish so that our youth live a life free from the curse of drug addiction .In short the social and economic problem of drug addiction should be fought jointly so that this big enemy of the people is kept at bay and our households become worth living and the drug abuse is shown the door.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist)
