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Kashmir’s greatest wealth is its people. Protecting them from drugs requires knowledge, early intervention, and decisive action, not fear alone.
Previously, there was a perception that drug addiction in Kashmir was an issue at the fringe of society. This perception has since been altered. At present, the use of substances in Jammu and Kashmir has become a significant social and health problem. This involves individuals’ family members, their schooling institutes, places of work and entire communities. The issue is not only about the introduction of illegal substances to the territory and the registration of cases with the police. Moreover, it is about the reasons behind why a certain individual starts consuming drugs, how the dependence on them evolves, how the family deals with this problem, and whether the society has enough meant to help them recover.
The dynamics of drug consumption make this challenge particularly complicated. Conventional beliefs about who becomes an addict do not work anymore. People can start abusing substances due to the influence of acquaintances, experimenting, availability, connections through the Internet or attempts to get away from personal problems. In many instances, substance consumption begins with curiosity and slowly turns into dependence. Once the family realizes that it is a serious problem, a certain individual may need professional treatment.
Official documents show the magnitude of this general problem. According to a reply in the 2024 Rajya Sabha, the Government implemented Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan in all districts of Jammu and Kashmir and over 91.5 lakh people, including over six lakh young people, were reached through this campaign. The same reply also mentions government-run rehabilitation and community intervention centers in the Union Territory.
These figures should not be taken as a sign of the number of addicts in Kashmir. They only show the magnitude of awareness efforts. It is important to distinguish between these two aspects since statistics about drug issues are often provided without much of context
The act of smuggling of drugs is a criminal act and those involved in organizing, financing, and profiting from the unlawful trade of drugs need to come under the law. This is hardly disputable. However, an individual who is dependent on some substance cannot be seen solely from a criminal point of view.
Dependence is a medical issue which requires proper treatment and rehabilitation. The National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at AIIMS understands the need for specialized treatment of substance use disorders that include adolescents and patients with dual diagnosis of substance dependence along with psychiatric conditions.
This difference needs to be taken into account when making policies concerning this issue in Kashmir. Smuggler and dependent user are not the same issue. While one profits from someone’s addiction, the other is stuck within it.
In both cases action needs to be taken – disrupt the source of the problem and help people stop being dependent.
The youth element cannot be overlooked either. Teenage and early adulthood years are when individuals decide on their identity, relationships, education and employment. Peer pressure may grow very strong at this time, especially since the young have no secure place where they can talk about their fears, failures, loneliness and familial issues.
It cannot be implied that every young individual who goes through stress is vulnerable to drug abuse. Nor can one suggest that Kashmir’s youth is a doomed generation. Such sweeping statements are both unjust and unsubstantiated. The vast majority of youths do not resort to the consumption of drugs.
The problem is that a smaller portion can cause a lot of trouble when addiction gets serious since one addict will influence their parents, brothers and sisters, wife and children, and everybody else in their family.
Drug addiction seldom remains a personal issue. There are heavy costs in terms of treatment for the family. The parents could be absent from work during treatment for their addicted child. Relationships become strained with loss of money or repeated failure of the recovery promises. There can be strain in marriages. The children could grow up in a disturbed environment.
In many societies, there is a fear of social censure. This leads to the family concealing the matter from others rather than seeking professional help immediately. There could be an approach to unqualified practitioners or depending solely on home remedies. Others wait until the situation becomes a crisis.
AIIMS has identified community based treatment as one means to help those who do not receive formal treatment due to accessibility problems, stigma, or any other reason.
Kashmir should take the concept seriously. Treatment should not be limited to large urban centers alone. An individual living in an isolated village must have the realistic chance to get counseling, evaluation, and treatment.
The other difficulty is that the market of the drugs keeps evolving. Those who are in charge must not only be aware of the known substances but also about the emerging newer psychoactive substances.
The National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at AIIMS has claimed studies of identifying new psychoactive substances among treatment seekers in India. It has the capacity to screen and identify different types of substances in its laboratory, and its research highlights the presence of newer psychoactive substances.
It is so important because prevention techniques might go out of date fast. The program based on a list of well-known drugs would not take into consideration the emergence of the newer drugs or changed usage.
Youngsters should be aware of that fact – just because the substance is marketed as something fashionable or beneficial does not mean that it is safe.
Schools do have a part to play here, but drug education programs cannot simply consist of an annual lecture. Young people require real-world knowledge about drugs, peer pressure, decision making, and the impact of dependence. Educators must be able to spot warning signs without playing detective.
Parents also need advice. Sudden shifts in behavior, isolation from the family unit, mysterious money problems, poor academic results, and changes in social groups may have a multitude of explanations. They never mean automatically that drug abuse is taking place. But changes of that sort warrant discussion, as well as professional assessment where needed.
Effective prevention needs to also tackle those factors that may make drugs appealing. Real jobs, sports, creative pursuits, civic involvement, and mental-health counseling services may not replace policies on drugs, but they can enrich the social context in which prevention takes place.
A young person who has things to do and places to go and people to talk to stands on better footing against harmful influences.
Detoxification, however, in itself does not necessarily end the problem of drug abuse for the addict. For some, recovery can take longer time periods. One can become physically well after completing the treatment course at a hospital; but one can go back to the same environment, same social circle and the same set of unaddressed issues. This is where the problem of relapse arises. There should be continuity between hospitals, rehab centers, community workers, families and other local institutions in J&K.
Government of India has developed a framework which includes rehabilitation centers, community-level peer interventions and outreach programs in the fight against drug abuse. Rehabilitation Centers, Community-level Interventions and Out-reach Programs. These initiatives require continuous support, trained people and credible evaluation.
A person who is recovering from drug abuse should have a plan to reintegrate back into mainstream society. Education, vocation and employment opportunities can help the individual in this regard.
The drug issue cannot be left to the police alone, just as it cannot be left to hospitals. Police departments must go after the drug traffickers. Health departments must provide treatment. Educational institutions must take preventive measures. Families must be made to know when and how to seek help. Religious and community leaders can help break the taboo and stop the process of normalising the drug use. The media must ensure that it reports responsibly about the issue without reducing the victims to objects of spectacle.
In particular, the media must not report the issue in a way that exposes recovering individuals or makes the whole problem of addiction a moral issue. Otherwise, public awareness will only serve the purpose if the process keeps the dignity intact.
There have been great changes in social and economic spheres in Kashmir during the past years. Addiction to drugs is one of the newest issues that needs continuous attention, but it should not be yet another issue to be discussed for some time and forgotten thereafter.
This is the real test.
Kashmir doesn’t require just another slogan; it requires a sustainable system. This includes information regarding patterns of substance abuse, treatment, experts in the field of addiction, local services, rehabilitative measures, prevention through schools and colleges, and decisive action against the networks of traffickers. It also includes monitoring to check the success of government initiatives in keeping addicts free of drugs once they have gone through the process of treatment.
Above all, society should learn to make the distinction between punishment and recovery.
The trafficker who exploits another person’s addiction for personal gain must be dealt with harshly. And the one who has become an addict should get his due treatment, along with the chance to turn over a new leaf in life.
The war against drugs cannot be won merely through raids and campaigns of awareness only. It can be won when fewer people join the list of drug users, when help is sought well before the point of no return, when addicts get the treatment they need without being humiliated, and when they are given the chance to resume normal life and go back to studying and working again.
mdmuslimbhat@gmail.com
