Drug Abuse Issue in Uttarakhand State :

Substance abuse is the abuse of any chemical substance(both legal and illegal drugs) in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to himself or to others. Addiction can affect us negatively in many ways. The short term effects include changes in appetite, wakefulness, heart rate, blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, psychosis, overdose, and even death. These health effects may occur after just one use. The long term effects can include heart or lung disease, cancer, mental illness, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and addictions.Sometimes  we face Social Stigma, unemployment, housing, relationships and criminal cases against the abusers.

The number of drug-abuse cases in Dehradun has seen an increase of 120% over three years — from 252 in 2015, to 386 in 2016, to 556 in 2017.The number of people arrested in these cases also increased by 116% between 2015 and 2017.

Meanwhile, the cases of smuggling of illicit liquor also witnessed a 40% rise in Dehradun between 2016 and 2017. From 811 cases in 2016, the number of such cases rose to 1,134 the next year. Owing to its proximity to Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh, illicit trade of drugs and banned liquor is high in Dehradun. Besides this, the city also acts as a transit location for the Garhwal region.

The rising cases can be attributed to the increased police surveillance. However, there is also an increase in substance abuse among youths in Dehradun. Mostly, these cases are seen in areas like Selaqui Market, Clement Town, and Doiwala among others, where students reside in majority.

Reasons of drug abuse :

•  Students fall prey to drugs mostly due to peer pressure and adventurism. Most of the cases registered in Dehradun involve seizure of charas and smack. In 2015, police seized 49.21 kg charas and 509.15 gram smack worth Rs 49.21 lakh and Rs 50.91 lakh, respectively. In 2017, the seized quantity of charas and smack increased by 79% and 835%, respectively. Overall, the net worth of seized banned drugs increased by 532% — from Rs 1.12 crore in 2015 to Rs 7.08 crore in 2017.
• Dehradun is an emerging education hub and students from different parts of the country are now residing here. Since most of them are living alone and away from home, it is easier for the peddlers to lure them.
• The unsupervised paying-guest homes and rented accommodations around educational institutes are becoming “safe havens” for substance abuse. Some students start it due to peer pressure while others do it as a status symbol. It has  been seen that generally students who are involved in substance abuse lack emotional support from family and friends.

The last three years also witnessed appreciable increase in seizure of other contraband items such as afeem (opium), ganja (cannabis) and intoxicating pills/capsules/injection. During interrogation, most arrested people revealed that they purchase the contraband from Bareilly, Saharanpur, and Himachal Pradesh, and sell them among youths in the city.

Drug peddling is an organised crime and curbing it is a difficult task that takes time. Besides surveillance, govt. are also organising awareness drives. Efforts have yielded positive results but there are miles to go before the menace is eradicated.

The situation was becoming “alarming” and that the number of police cases registered do not always reflect the ground reality. According to govt. sources there is 120% increase in drug-related cases but local people says the situation is graver and this figure maybe the tip of the iceberg.”

Solutions :

• In Uttarakhand, the rehabilitation centres are very ill-equipped to counsel and treat drug addict. Most of these centres were “useless”. “A majority of them lack trained professionals to treat drug addicts. The treatment involves deaddiction, rehabilitation, and regular follow up, sometimes for years. But centres here don’t have these facilities. In the name of rehabilitation, they are extracting money from the parents so government need to restructure and reform them.
• Uttarakhand high court recently order to regulate the sale of whitners and additives to those under the age of 18 which is good step.
• Children should be empowered to say no to drugs in the initial stage itself. Children should be psycho-educated and empowered with adaptive coping skills, assertive skills, resilience skills and taught to have high self-esteem so that they can say no to drugs.
• If a child is already taking drugs immediate professional help and counselling is needed. Drug addiction is also preventable and manageable with medical help and professional counselling. It is a more difficult and lengthy procedure and consumes a lot of time, effort and money. Support of the family is very important.

The problem of rising drug trafficking, drug peddling and drug addiction is destroying the economy of the state, but the government is not taking any step to control the menace of rising drug trafficking. Drug peddling and drug addiction.