Opinion | Drug Addiction Among The Teenagers a Big Threat

Firstly, we will see what is drug? Drug is a chemical which people use to give them pleasant or exciting feelings or in other words drug are substance that changes a person’s mental or physical state.

Now here arise a question does everyone who take drug become addicted? Not everyone who use drug become drug addicted because they use drug to relieve some medical condition and when they are cured or when the medical condition is over they leave them.

You may have another question, how did this happen ? Or how a person becomes drug addict? Some people who feel depressed begin to use the drug to self-medicate and get addicted to it . Sometimes a traumatized event , a relationship issues or a toxic parenting lead a person to drugs. Some other people use drugs to escape from the pressures of life.When a person takes abnormal or inappropriate drugs is drug abuse and drug addiction is continued compulsive use of drugs  inspite of their adverse health, social and emotional consequences. When a person becomes drug addict he loses his control over drug use and becomes isolated from family and friends. They may also face difficulty at various stages of life and sometimes leads them to commit crimes. Drug addiction also leads some critical health problems like higher risk of heart problems, HIV virus , Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C etc. It also spoils number of human lives and also destroys the golden period of life. The fact is drug addiction is a chronic disease of the brain that cannot be overcome overnight , with simple “NO” or change of mind. If you are asking ” Why do people get addicted ” Or Why did my child,sister, brother or beloved one get addicted. It is important to acknowledge it first , support them and listen their problems they are facing in day to day life. Do not criticize them, be polite with them and try to extract the root cause why are they taking drugs and also provide them emotional support. Try to eliminate such things which hurt their sentiments and let them take time to quit drugs. All they need  is support and affection from their loved ones.  Also give them professional treatments including counselling, medicine or both.

Addiction is a huge societal problem our world is currently facing. With drug abuse in kashmir  becoming a rampant phenomenon. The main drug rehabilitation facility in Srinagar is reporting at least 150 cases of addiction everyday out of which 95% are heroin abusers which has spread its tentacles deep into kashmiri society over last 5 years . What is alarming is that these 90% addicts were found to be in the 17- 33 age group. The money involved in huge, while 1gram of heroin is available for 1200- 1500 in kupwara and in Srinagar peddlers charge Rs 2500- 3000 for it. Drug addiction is now directly proportional to the increasing crimes in the valley. Drug addiction gives birth to many crime  like theft , domestic violation,suicides and murders. According to the police 90% of the theft have been committed by the drug users . 1249kg of narcotics have been seized including 16.23 kg of heroin in the first seven months of 2022.

According to DR. Yasir Rather who the heads IMHAN rehabilitation centre said that earlier abusers used to come from specific areas ” but now patients were  coming  from every nook and corner of kashmir”.He further said we have patients from well- off family , educated, uneducated and even professional are also involved in it . United national drug control programme (UNDCP) reported that around 70000 people are drug addicts in the kashmir valley alone among which 4000 are female. It is an alarming situation now.

COPE SAFELY, DON’T DO DRUGS
DON’T  LET DRUGS CONTROL YOU WHEN
YOU’RE IN CONTROL OF YOUR FUTURE.
COFFEE CAN KEEP YOU AWAKE TOO.
WEED– OUT DRUGS,YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL.

(Irtiqa farooq is a BA Student, womens right activist.)