Wasted lives
Addiction to medicinal drugs has reached alarming proportions in the region. The worst hit are our young adults. Social action on a war-footing is required to save them from ruin, says Jaya Bhardwaj

There is an air of adventure associated with it but it is a road that always leads nowhere except self-annihilation. Though its destructive potential is well documented, both in terms of scientific data and case studies, and the society and health organisations have been extremely concerned about its harrowing aftermath, substance abuse (drug addiction) continues to rise at an alarming rate.

What is particularly unsettling is that it is the young who are the worst affected, and despite much publicity about the ill- effects of drug abuse, there seems to be no let- up in the rapidly rising graph of new addicts.

Substance-addiction has, like in the West, led to the development of another social ill — crime. Sometime back a small group of drug addicts, THAT used to indulge in petty crimes to pay for their habit, tried to sabotage the whole power system of Haryana by removing fish plates and nuts and bolts from the 11,000 volts main tower line. In another incident, a drug addict of Mohali stabbed his sister- in- law when she refused to give him money for buying drugs. According to Dr Anil Malhotra, head of the drug de-addiction centre, PGI, Chandigarh, a drug abuser can engage in crimes of any dimension, ranging from brawls, rash driving and petty thefts to drug trafficking, without thinking of the consequences.

Interestingly, the adult population of the city is more prone to liquor and tobacco abuse while the younger generation has found its nirvana in drugs. The drug menace is not confined to the poor and the uneducated sections of the young population which do not have the funds to buy expensive liquor.

It has spread its tentacles to the affluent and the educated sections too. According to volunteers working against this menace, youngsters are more prone to medicinal drugs. Empty bottles of cough syrups can be found frequently in the lavatories and corners of schools and colleges of the City Beautiful. Chronic medicinal drug abusers also start injecting themselves with pain-killers and sedatives.

The extent of drug addiction in the region is alarming. The number of patients in the drug de-addiction centre of the PGI, Chandigarh, is increasing every year. As many as 416 new patients have been brought to this centre this year as against 363 last year. Among them, 15 per cent are opium and heroin addicts, 4 per cent are habituated to cannabis, 26 per cent are intravenous injection users and 11 per cent have indulged in multiple drug abuse. About 44 per cent of the patients are suffering from alcohol abuse. The number of alcoholics has come down considerably since most of them are turning to substance abuse. As such, the number of patients taking intravenous drugs is rising at an alarming rate. The shift is because of the lower cost of narcotics.

It would be pertinent to mention here that in 1988-89 only 3 per cent of the addicts were using intravenous drugs. However, it has now risen up to 26 per cent. On the other hand, 8 per cent of the patients admitted this year were found to be heroin addicts, down from 26 per cent in 1988-89. This is because of the high cost of heroin in the black market. One gram of heroin costs Rs 250 to 300 whereas an injection costs less than Rs 10.

What is causing concern to doctors and volunteers is that a large number of patients do not seek treatment. They are wary of disclosing their identity and do not want to approach de-addiction centres of treatment. But, on the other hand, the telephone numbers of the counselling centre are inundated with calls asking for help and treatment via the telephone only. Though commendable work is being done by bodies like the Alcoholic Anonymous and Narcotic Anonymous to help drug abusers, only the tip of the iceberg has been reached so far.

A random survey in and around Chandigarh shows that the number of addicts is increasing by the day, and the efforts to curb the menace are niggardly. It is not only the boys who are falling prey to drug abuse. More and more girls are also getting attracted towards it. However, because of social reasons, parents hide the addiction more in the case of girls than boys. The drug de-addiction centre at the PGI received only three to four girls for treatment in the last five years.

A study of some of the cases shows that those who served as peddlers ultimately got involved in the use of drugs. Initially, it was the hefty commission which lured them into supplying drugs to the addicts. The rate of commission for peddling is between 25 and 40 per cent of the street price.

Addiction happens accidentally also, says Dr Malhotra. He recalls the case of a patient from Gurdaspur who went to his doctor for the treatment of some ailment and the doctor injected him with a pain-killer. The man felt a "heavenly pleasure" and soon became a drug abuser.

The incidence of medicinal drugs abuse is more amongst students as most syrups have no smell, and after taking it one goes to sleep because of its sedative effect. Cough syrups used by abusers contain codeine phosphate, one of the derivatives of opiates. Every 5 ml of these syrups contains 10 mg of codeine phosphate. A 100 ml bottle of the syrup costs about Rs 26 only. Similarly, the salt buprenorphine is also a derivatives of opiates. However ,the salt disulfiram is an alcohol- sensitised drug. The beginners start with consuming a bottle everyday but they soon graduate to four or five bottles a day.

There are no recent studies in the field of drug abuse. The studies conducted in the 70s and the 80s indicate that the drug abusers are mainly males, and an appreciable number of them are students . According to them, 10 per cent to 40 per cent of the population generally indulges in alcohol abuse.

For other drug abuse, the percentage varies from 0.475 to 54 per cent. Furthermore, in students, the males outnumbered the females and the commonly abused substances included tobacco, alcohol, sedative — hypnotics of various kinds and amphetamines. The incidence ranged from 20 to 70 per cent. It is evident from these studies that besides the use of traditional substances, i.e. intoxicants originating from cannabis (bhang, charas, ganja etc ) and opium (afeem), in rural area, new drugs like heroin and benzodiazepines are being frequently abused by vulnerable groups, especially the non student youth, industrial workers and slum dwellers.

Experts are of the view that the menace can be controlled effectively only through choking the supply. Effective policing against drug trafficking is, therefore, the answer. In Chandigarh, 16 cases of drug trafficking were registered in 1997. Eight cases have been registered in the current year. Besides, there were two major recoveries in 1997 which indicate the magnitude of abuse in the area. The police recovered more than 9 kg of smack in two different cases. In addition, large quantities of poppy husk, opium and charas were also recovered.

According to DSP Subhash Chander Sagar and Inspector Jagbir Singh, who have been actively involved in anti-smuggling operations, a large number of students are indulging in the abuse of medicinal drugs.

The police, they say, feels helpless because as per the Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act selling of these drugs is a non-cognizable offence. However, certain drugs have been covered under the Essential Commodities Act. The law needs to be amended further to stop the use of medicinal drugs and the selling of the medicines containing prohibited salts should be made cognisable in the Drugs Act itself, Sagar said. Moreover, the stocks of chemists should be regularly monitored so that they cannot indulge in trafficking .