Majid Malik
DODA, Oct 23: According to health experts in erstwhile mountainous Doda district, the youth in especially in Bhaderwah have fallen into the net of drugs and they smoke, sniff, eat and even inject the drugs just to get a kick and temporarily escaping into an 'illusory world' and such cases have increasing by 25-30 per cent in the last few years.
Dr Fareed Ahmed Head of District Hospital Doda, feeling the gravity of the rising addiction among youth said the menace of drug addiction has gripped the Doda district , with mostly youngsters falling into the trap."
As per statistics mostly youth in the 18-35 age group have fallen in the trap and deaths are reported in young men because of heavy doses of drugs," Dr Fareed said.
Rasheed Ahmad (name changed) of Bhaderwah remembers how he lost his brother and said," I cannot help but blame myself for his death. 25-year-old Rasheed worked as a employee at Doda when he became an addict. "I got addicted to psychotropic drugs and Corax ," he recalled the past.
"My younger brother was forced to quit studies and started working as I became incapable of doing anything. It was just after a few months, that he met with an accident and died," he lamented with heavy sigh for feeling guilty of his brother's death.
The drug addicts in Doda are consuming psychotropic drugs like Benzodiazepines with trade names like Diazepam, Alprazolam, Alprax besides Corex and Codeine and cannabis derivatives like hashish and marijuana. "Apart from this alcohol intake seems to be picking up, Mohd Iqbal Balwan , a social worker of Doda city said. "I did a mistake once and then it became my compulsion," Raju name changed a local youth of Bhaderwah said adding, " I was 14 when I first started taking drugs.
"I started with fluid eraser, petrol and fevicol. I was very good at studies, but now I am a below average student. I wanted to become a cricketer but I wouldn't be able to do that now, I know," Raju said.
Police sources states that drugs go by different names on the street than their actual name in order to make communication confidential between addicts and peddlers and some common names of drugs are Scorpio, Ice, Haircut, Weed, Gold Star, Grass, Bush, Soda, 420, Aspirin, Pearl, etc. "Availability of prescription drugs has added fuel to the fire in serious rise of addiction, police sources said.
According a figures that 15 addicts are registered daily at Psychiatric hospital Aamphalla and Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H) Jammu which is alarming.
According to the experts the drug abuse among younger generation is generally due to poor and improper socialization besides deviation from rich moral values besides it also includes unresolved dependency, escapism, low self-esteem, compulsiveness and a lack of will power. Social activists and NGOS are working to create awareness among youth while Army too has been extending its help for awareness drive by organizing Drug de-addiction awareness programmes during which pamphlets were also distributed for general awareness. |
