TEENS INCREASING USAGE OF DRUGS AND ALCHOHOL

Drug use is a common problem among teens and young adults across
the globe. It is not uncommon for children to be exposed to those
selling or using drugs, so it is important to make sure that teens
understand the dangers of drug use. When teens and young adults
start using drugs, many problems can arise, from poor grades and
relationship problems to dangerous health situations and criminal
behavior.

INDIAN CONTEXT

As per the Azad India Foundation Report on Social issues in 2019, India too is caught in this
Vicious circle of drug abuse, and the numbers of drug addicts are increasing day by day.

According to a UN report, One million heroin addicts are registered in India, and unofficially there are as
many as five million. Population of high-income group youth in the metro has permeated to all sections of
society. Inhalation of heroin alone has given way to intravenous drug use, that too in combination with other
sedatives and painkillers. This has increased the intensity of the effect, hastened the process of addiction and
complicated the process of recovery. Cannabis, heroin, and Indian-produced pharmaceutical drugs are the
most frequently abused drugs in India.

The International Narcotics Control Board in its 2002 report released in Vienna pointed out that in India
persons addicted to opiates are shifting their drug of choice from opium to heroin. The pharmaceutical
products containing narcotic drugs are also increasingly abused. The intravenous injections of analgesics like
dextropropoxphene etc are also reported from many states, as it is easily available at 1/10th the cost of
heroin. The codeine-based cough syrups continue to be diverted from the domestic market for abuse.

Drug abuse is a complex phenomenon, which has various social, cultural, biological, geographical, historical
and economic aspects. The disintegration of the old joint family system, the absence of parental love and
care in modern families where both parents are working, the decline of old religious and moral values, etc.
lead to a rise in the number of drug addicts who take drugs to escape the hard realities of life. Drug use,
misuse or abuse is also primarily due to the nature of the drug abused, the personality of the individual and
the addict’s immediate environment. The processes of industrialization, urbanization and migration have led
to a loosening of the traditional methods of social control rendering an individual vulnerable to the stresses
and strains of modern life. The fast-changing social milieu, among other factors, is mainly contributed to the
proliferation of drug abuse, both of traditional and new psychoactive substances. The introduction of
synthetic drugs and intravenous drug use leading to HIV/AIDS has added a new dimension to the problem,
especially in the Northeast states of the country.

There is a wide regional variation across states in term of the incidence of the substance abuse. For example, a
larger proportion of teens in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh use gateway drugs (about 60 percent in both
the states) than Uttar Pradesh or Haryana (around 35 percent). Increase in incidences of HIV, hepatitis B and C
and tuberculosis due to addiction add the reservoir of infection in the community burdening the health care
system further. Women in India face greater problems from drug abuse. The consequences include domestic
violence and infection with HIV, as well as the financial burden. Most of the domestic violence is directed
against women and occurs in the context of demands for money to buy drugs. At the national level, drug abuse
is intrinsically linked with racketeering, conspiracy, corruption, illegal money transfers, terrorism and violence
threatening the very stability of governments.

India has braced itself to face the menace of drug trafficking both at the national and international levels.
Several measures involving innovative changes in enforcement, legal and judicial systems have been brought
into effect. The Act has been further amended by making provisions for the forfeiture of properties derived
from illicit drug trafficking. Comprehensive strategy involving specific programs to bring about an overall
reduction in the use of drugs has been evolved by the various government agencies and NGOs and is further
supplemented by measures like education, counseling. India also is signatory to the following treaties and
conventions:

against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances

Convention

Substance Use in Kerala

Drug addiction has become a persistent problem in Kerala which affects everyone directly or indirectly.
Psychoactive substance abuse in Kerala continues to be a substantive problem for the individual and the
society. Substance abuse leads to the perilous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and
illicit drugs, which direct to a cluster of behavioural, cognitive, and physiological problems. To break the
supply chain, the Enforcement Agencies have focused on intelligence collection, detection and effective
investigation of the

NDPS cases. The details of seizures done by Excise Department during last few years are as follows;

Kerala State Excise Department (https://keralaexcise.gov.in/en/2023/03/04/vimukthi-survey-

Major Contrabands seized

SLNO YEAR GANJA(kg) MDMA(gm)

6000

5000

4000
GANJA(kg)
3000 MDMA(gm)

2000

1000

0
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