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Drug Abuse

Drug abuse in India is varied, complex and widespread, right from the lower level to the upper social strata cutting across the gender divide. Drug abuse is common both in rural and urban India.

The Report points out alcohol, cannabis, opium and heroin as the major drugs of abuse. The number of persons requiring treatment is large. Indictable Drug Users (IDUs) have been reported from among both men and women. A large number of drug users also indulge in unsafe sex practices and many other high-risk behaviours were common.The survey was jointly carried out by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

In the area of prevention, the Report suggests the shifting of focus from total abstinence-oriented programmes to those which delay the onset of drug use among young people. It says instead of developing a broad approach towards large sections of the society, specific programmes targeting various at-risk groups need to be evolved. Preventive programmes based on information dissemination are rarely successful, especially if the approach depicts exaggerated risks associated with drug use in order to frighten people into abstinence. Propagating the hazards of drug abuse is not useful enough.

 

As a result, the message often loses its impact. Sometimes it is even counterproductive. Research in this area has shown that a less sensational approach can be better. Modern preventive programmes should present accurate information and discuss the broad risk factors associated with drug abuse. Prevention of substance abuse may thus be embedded within the large framework of crime prevention as also safe and healthy life styles.

The data from the current survey do not enlist factors promoting or preventing drug abuse. The information obtained from users, compared with non-users, showed that the current users of various substances were largely illiterate, came from nuclear families and were unmarried by and large.

The data from the other components showed that many drug users had close family members who were also drug users. According to the Report an innovative approach involving improved problem-solving capacity may be useful to prevent the early onset of drug use. This can be done through an interactive or communicative approach with the drug users. A number of countries have incorporated these into their normal school curriculum. The Report also recommends that preventive programmes be carried out for non-student youth and in workplaces.

The term ‘treatment’ refers to a variety of activities and processes which aim at helping individuals with drug-related problems. These include self-recognition of substance-related problems. According to the Report outreach programmes, case management and motivational interaction may help in early treatment. The people by and large have also to be fully involved in this endeavour.

The programmes initiated to prevent drug abuse need to be monitored. Periodic evaluations are also necessary. Data collection on the treatment centres needs to be given priority.

The survey enlists multiple indicators, methods and information obtained from different places to provide a holistic picture of the extent, pattern and trends of drug abuse in the country. It says we must strive to remove the stigma attached to the drug abusers for their rehabilitation.

 

 

National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotic Substances is based on the Directive Principles, Article 47, of Indian Constitution. The government’s policy on the subject is guided by international conventions. India is signatory to Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961 (amended by 1972 Protocol); Conventions on Psychotropic Substances,

1971; UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988.