By Dr. K. Javeed Nayeem, MD
Without seeming to realise what we are heading into, we as a society, seem to be walking head on, into a very major catastrophe, that is going to impact and even drastically alter the state of our happiness and the state of our civilisation too, in the very near future.
Every passing day, we are now reading reports and seeing visuals from all around us, of massive seizures of narcotic and psychotropic drugs, of every imaginable kind. The market value of these seized substances runs into crores of rupees, which indicates the massive scale of this sleazy business that continues to go unchecked, across geographical and political borders, with widespread inter-State and even global ramifications.
And, what is seized is understandably only the tiny tip of a giant iceberg that continues to remain hidden, because drug manufacturing and distributing syndicates being highly organised and unimaginably wealthy, take great precautions to remain hidden and undetected, while continuing their businesses.
Drug addiction is a very pervasive, worldwide crisis that is now rapidly affecting the physical, mental and socio-economic well-being, across all sections of our society. It is increasingly impacting our younger generations, with early to late adolescence being identified as a critical-risk period for initiation.
And, the problem that is ravaging and ruining our society, is much bigger than what is obvious and even what we can imagine, because affected families are very shy to come out in the open and discuss the trauma they are going through, due to a sense of embarrassment that is naturally associated with it.
It needs no saying that drug abuse causes serious physical and mental health issues, including irreversible damage to the brain, heart and liver, as well as long-lasting mental disorders like anxiety, depression and psychosis.
The consequences are far-reaching, leading to increased crime rates and violence, family breakdown, loss of productivity and immense financial strain.
Because of these reasons, the very mindset of the affected adolescents is certainly going to influence their way of thinking and the way they behave, when they become adults, with aggression, intolerance and impatience taking the lead.
That is exactly why I have said that it is very likely to impact the state of our civilisation too.
On a much lesser level, substance abuse increases the risk of infectious diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C, especially among those who inject drugs.
The causes for youngsters falling prey to this problem are multifaceted and they include peer pressure, easy availability of drugs, high-stress levels, simple curiosity and the urge to stay with the times. Although treatment modalities are available for the not so severe cases, as in any other disease, prevention is the mainstay and so it is the best approach.
Although addiction is a treatable disease, if recognised early, only a small fraction of people with drug abuse disorders receive effective treatment, except when a very organised, large scale community effort is undertaken.
Effective measures require a combination of prevention, education, counselling and rehabilitation. The process should necessarily start with educating young people about the dangers of drug use, with a focus on self-confidence and resistance to peer pressure which is very crucial.
The problem is becoming all the more unmanageable because of the rapid emergence of newer psychoactive substances which pose newer challenges for detection and control. Providing accessible and affordable treatment and establishing effective rehabilitation centres becomes very essential.
Since the risk of returning to drug use after treatment, is extremely high, constant vigilance in looking for symptoms of a relapse are of utmost importance. Since the social stigma and discrimination against people with addiction can hinder their access to help, great care should be taken to maintain secrecy about the identities of affected individuals and their families too.
And, any such programme can succeed only if it involves families, schools and communities to support prevention and early intervention. This is where families, educational institutions, NGOs and even service clubs like the Lions and the Rotary should start coordinated efforts to tackle the problem.
Although all classes of people, the rich and the poor too, are affected by the menace of drugs, it is largely the poor and the illiterate that bear its maximum brunt because of sheer ignorance about its ill effects. That is why the affluent and educated, need to come forward, realising that they have a great moral duty to use their means, knowledge and influence, to help society.
The mere enforcing of laws to curb drug trafficking and break the supply chain, are no doubt very important but they simply cannot be of much use, because drugs will continue to reach the end users as long as they continue to long for them. So, blaming the Police or other law enforcing agencies of being inefficient and ineffective is of no use.
If we do not do something to stem this rot on a war footing now, very soon our very existence can be irretrievably sucked into the vortex of a giant whirlpool, which is exactly what this problem is. Do think about it.
e-mail: kjnmysore@rediffmail.com
This post was published on February 8, 2026 7:34 pm