Insight into Drug Addiction
Author: Neeharika Kapoor, Edited by: Tufail Farooq
Drug is a word used rampantly for addictive substances in common parlance. The condition of being addicted to a particular substance or activity is known as Addiction, so drug addiction implies the physical dependence of a person on the use of some drugs.
Use of drugs and alcohol is not a new thing. In India, the wide use of intoxicating substances like ‘Somarasa' goes back to around 2000 B.C. In the Ramayana and the Mahabharata also there is reference to the use of drugs. During the Muslim rules in India, along with strong wine, opium was used.
The other widely drugs in use since ancient times in India were known as cannabis and opiates. Cannabis smoking is known since 2000 BC and it is also mentioned in ATHARVAVEDA. Cannabis and it's derivatives – Marijuana, Hashish, etc were sold legally in India until 1985.
In 1961, the US began to campaign for a worldwide law against all drugs, following the adoption of single convention on Narcotic Drugs. At first India opposed the move and withstood American pressure but in 1980's the American pressure increased and in 1985 the government of Rajeev Gandhi enacted the NDPS Act – The Narcotic Drugs & Psychotic Substances Act, an Act of Parliament that prohibits a person to produce/manufacture/cultivate, possess, sell, purchase, transport or consume any narcotic substance or psychotropic substance.
NDPS- The Narcotic Drugs & Psychotic Substances Act was introduced in Lok Sabha on 23rd August,1985. It was passed by both the houses on 16th September 1985 and commenced on 14 November 1985 and has been amended thrice I.e, in 1988, 2001 & 2004.
Also according to section 276 of Indian Penal code, whoever knowingly sells, or offers or exposes for sale, or issues from a dispensary for medicinal purposes, any drug or medical preparation, as a different drug or medical preparation, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
Indian campaign against drug abuse
The common slogans used against drug abuse include –
- Say no to drugs, Yes to Life.
- Kill that bug that got you into drugs.
- Drugs cost you more than just money.
- Think health not drugs.
“Think health not drugs”, is the slogan of the international campaign led by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to raise awareness about the major challenge that illicit drugs represent to society as a whole, and especially to the young.
As the drug abuse is leading the generation towards an end; so as far as the drug addiction is concerned, it's impact varies depending on the substance abuse.
Drug addiction isn't limited to just any age group, gender, caste, creed, race etc.
Individual of any age can get addicted to drugs, although mainly the individuals get addicted to drugs in their late teens or twenties.
From teenagers to the old aged ones, as estimated 60% of the total population is dependent on drugs. Some die of the overdoses and others ask for huge amount of money from family and on refusal they either start stealing from their houses or outside or become violent. Most of them are also in debted to the drug dealers.
Even after introducing NDPS, the manufacturing or selling of drugs didn't stop. The only change that came was-
Open availability of drugs became illegal.
So the basic question here is that whether NDPS actually helped the country or did it make illegal businesses grow to a higher peak.
What is the main reason behind youth taking drugs.
So these could be main causes attributed to drug addiction or abuse:
- Environment
- Genetics
- Peer Pressure
- Cool Quotient
But the most important reasons are PEER PRESSURE & COOL QUOTIENT of the drugs. Coolness is all about creativity and having the courage to transgress and, in doing so, creating new inroads and pathways for future generations. But today's generation has mistaken in interpreting the meaning of being cool as it is more focused on the negative ways of portraying themselves.
Being cool is the new hashtag used by the today's generation. Even one's family background and state of well being is judged by the gestures of one's coolness.
For being cool one has to stay updated on the latest trends in attitude, speech, attire, hangouts, technology, etc., to maintain your “cool” status but despite of being updated on the above, you still feel that coolness is worth striving for mostly because of our desire to feel accepted by a peer group and develop a sense of self worth because of the trending celebrities, web series, social media. Etc….
The entertainment sector is streaming series about drugs that only show the cool factors of it.
Trending web series on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, TVF, and certain movies are mostly seen by the young generation and who are likely to be encouraged by them. They are broadcasting shows glorifying drugs and the abusers. Very few of these media show harmful effects of the drugs.
For many youngsters, these actors and actresses are role models and this makes the youth watching vulnerable to fell into the drug trap.
Peer pressure accompanies cool quotient.
If there's a group of ten people and two abusing drugs and are considered cool, some more could start indulging and before they know it they are already addicted.
Here's a story of a youngster describing his cool quotient of drugs accompanied by peer pressure-
- I was fourteen perhaps fifteen, almost every friend of mine was watching movies and the web series but my parents were kinda strict so I never got a chance to watch them.
- One day, at a friend's home when I was watching a movie, I saw the hero injecting drugs and feeling the hallucinations and good trips of that drug and he was the best actor.
- I wanted to try it. I told my friend that the best actor of the industry has tried so let's try it too. At first he refused but after some time we went to a peddler and got some stuff.
- None of the both knew that we will fall into this drug hole. We tried once and twice and thrice and than it became our daily routine.
- At first we felt really great but with time we were about to die whenever we missed in taking it.
- Gradually my friend died of overdose and I was left alone still doing it over again, not afraid of being dead.
- My family lost the money they had saved over my treatment but there wasn't any ray of hope of me getting better and quitting the drugs.
The consequences that follow is a harsh reality which ain't measurable.
A normal person can't understand the pain and suffering of a drug addict and his/her family. So now what should be the further course of action to deal with this menace??
The efforts
For each individual who got addicted, recovery is must. This recovery can be done with the help of doctors, de-addiction centres or by the person himself.
The sovereign effort is to make aware the society and individuals about the effects of drug abuse on their life, especially if we caution the young gen
eration. Side-effects of drug abuse and its effects on one's livelihood should be told to the students at their school, at home, and even at the tutorials and family gatherings.
In the today's scenario, we have sex education classes at schools and colleges so there's nothing wrong in adopting special lectures on effects of drug abuse.
If the younger generation will be apprised about the effects of the drugs they won't use it or else we can say their chances of abusing them would be less.
The lectures should not only include the effects and side-effects of the drugs but also about its non cool quotient. Students should be encouraged by telling them to get high on grades and not on drugs.
The most crucial is the Government's effort and initiative. Till the present time the government has framed many policies but of merely any use. In the present time, the cases of drug abuse are growing by the day, to bring them down in control the government should introduce some new policies and Acts that could be beneficial for the today's generation.
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
We the people of society should come together in an organised manner against this menace to check this at our homes, in our streets, Schools, Colleges, Universities, workplaces. The drug problem is here to stay but would only be eradicated with a collective effort.
Don't let the peer bug drag you into the trap of drugs!
- D – Drugs
- E – End
- A – All
- D – Dreams
Quit drugs to live a healthy life, otherwise, you will end up killing yourself.
The author is a law student from Jammu
