Kashmir lost its innocence long back in many ways. One of the nightmares we are living with is that our children are at increased risk of developing a substance related problems. When there was Opiods boom in whole subcontinent we were aloof as society except for a few aberrations in tourist related areas and socially accepted and locally called charas takias. We as a people had beliefs and values which were protective and preventive and we sailed clear of Opiods epidemic. No more can I repeat this optimism as Opiods abuse along with other medicinal abuse has gone deep inside Kashmiri society, I know of rural areas were bus does not go but Opiods do, not only inflicting damage on the minds and souls of youth who consume it but breaking families and neighborhoods and societies and in the process causing irreparable damage to culture which already stands devastated. Families after families are drifting into blind hole of poverty and alas we are watching thinking  that my children, my brother can’t do it, not understanding that when flood breaks river banks then it does not obey laws. It simple comes crashing everything it comes across. It moves to destroy everything in its way and does not even spare even places of worship. That is what substance abuse is doing to our society.  It is going deep into culture and today’s substance abuser in Kashmir has no profile , he is rich and poor, employed and unemployed, traumatized and resilient, educated and illiterate, rural and urban,  ghettoized and uptown he is that all and much more.
We are debating whether this is a social problem or a legal problem or a medical issue and substance abuse is eating on the very social fabric we are bound with, creating havoc with our rising crime rates and becoming one of the common emergencies in hospitals. It is attacking on many fronts and we are unable to devise a strategy which is multi dimensional and effective. Our preachers think that alcohol was banned because it was called sharab and the very name is a big taboo in a society like ours, not understanding that alcohol was banned because of its effects and they ought to advocate as vehemently against abuse of other substances as alcohol. All of us have a role in defeating substance abuse.  The pharmacy which sells this poison ought to understand that your son is equally vulnerable, schools and teachers  ought to be proactive. Police has to be vigilant even though I fully understand their limitation of not being able to use Narcotics drug act as most of the abused substances don’t come under its preview. Drug controller has a role not as government duty  but as a parent, because I know how difficult it is for him to monitor all shops with such a meager staff but as a thought why could we not make our drug distribution system so accountable that if rural pharmacist is selling 50 bottles of  cough syrup in a single day in mid July it rings a bell somewhere for someone to hear. Preventive strategies have to be there but as problem on hands is huge and secondary prevention in form of early diagnosis and treatment should be a high priority and detoxification centers and long-term rehabilitation facilities are necessities and not luxuries any more. And at last let us all pray for drug free society were we don’t lose our youth to false world of fantasies and may God make our youth icons of change were happiness is derived from altruism and humor in real world and not drugs in a virtual world which does not exist.

(Dr. Arshad Hussain is Consultant Department of Psychiatry, GMC, Srinagar)

Lastupdate on : Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:00:00 IST