The Addiction Problem

Sorting any issue in India requires a comprehension and understanding skills. What's more, as a result of India's size, the size of any issue is tremendous. Therefore, the test before the Central and State Governments so as to solve the addiction that a great many Indians have for narcotics and liquor, will require some real intercession. Numbers are dazzling — while 14.6 percent of India's populace savored liquor in the past, of that number, 19 percent are abusing liquor or dependent on it, which adds up to 57 million individuals. The numbers for cannabis dependents are five million, opiates another six million and few more million for other drugs. An issue of this scale can't be settled by unimportant preclusion requests or ‘drug free' campaigns alone. It requires state intervention.What can the state do? We feel that there should be a move to fund more de-addiction centres across the country, and not just in urban but also in district and possibly even taluka headquarters in areas where the problem is severe. But this will highlight another problem, which is the lack of enough counsellors. We need experts to advise and help those individuals, who have been addicted for decades. While it might not be possible for governments, both Centre and State, to build thousands of centres across the country, they must associate themselves with non-governmental organisations, including religious bodies, to help tackle the crisis. Like it or not, religion plays a big role in the de-addiction process for some. George W Bush, former US President, had a self-admitted alcohol problem during his youth but he found God and then went on to become the President of the United States. Of course, most addicts do not come from as privileged a background as Bush but he is an exemplar of how a life can turn around when an intervention is made. And this is also an example of one other major factor, that of family support. Many who suffer from substance abuse are ostracised by society when what they often need most is family support. Substance abuse is often a cry for help. At the same time, some families keep the abuse problem within the walls instead of actively seeking help for a family member, worried about the ‘shame', particularly in a country like India. Asking for help is a brave thing but families must remember that doing so is in the best interests of somebody seeking redemption. This will also require education and awareness. In fact, instead of trying to just tell the youth ‘don't', the Government should tell families that they should reach out to helplines if they need help. Then there is that beautiful hypocrisy in the alcohol problem. Since State Governments make so much revenue from liquor sales, for them to give up the liquid lucre will be impossible. This is a challenge that will require some innovative thinking as well.