| Drug addiction among budding youth on rise in Kashmir | | If not stopped, it will distract future of young generation | | Mohammad Sarfaraz
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, May 7: The drug addiction among the budding youth is on rise, all individuals especially parents are worried about their children but the concerned agencies are least bothered about the crimes which are taking place in different parts of Kashmir valley.
A group of sociology students while talking to early times said that it is unfortunate that drug addiction in the valley has received little attention from the government, as well as from so called NGOs, who are just superficially dealing with the problem.
We believe that it is a big social problem and needs concrete steps and strategies. The youths and women of age group 18-35 have easy access to such drugs. Those who are responsible for supplying the drugs are never caught, students wishing anonymity told early times.
They said that, "The international trade in narcotics and psychotropic substances has become so lucrative a 'business' today that many organized drug mafia and syndicates have surfaced all over the world, and Kashmir has become a hotspot for drugs where teenagers are getting involved in this social problem.
The easy availability of pharmaceuticals across the counter has added fuel to the fire. There is no check on over-the-counter sales of such medicinal drugs by medical stores. Those belonging to the age group of 14- 28 are more vulnerable to drug abuse, said students.
However experts believe that, "In most of the cases of psychiatry problems, we found that 70 to 75% tested positive for cannabis, especially in the case of men.
Cannabis is considered a gateway drug, a common medical parlance used to describe substances that supposedly lead users on to more addictive or dangerous drugs.
The government, mass media and other social organizations must work with great coordination, and in a close-knit manner, to nip the evil in the bud.
In the absence of any formal counseling and psychiatric help at higher secondary and college levels, many youths in the valley take to drugs, said experts.
The mere slogan of say no to drugs will not yield any result if it continued on the same pace. We have a collective responsibility to find the cause, as well as remedial measures, for the safety and security of our youth.
"If drug addiction was not stopped at the earliest the budding youth will get distract from the path of righteousness and can adopt any social evil, and that will not be accepted by anybody in our society, government should tighten the noose of chemists, mafias, drug suppliers and should serve hard punishment to them, so that we could have a drug free society, said experts. |
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