'GOVERNMENT FAILS TO CHECK DRUG ABUSE AMONG KASHMIRI YOUTH'

Srinagar - Government has failed to check the rampant drug
abuse among the youth in Valley and if tangible measures are not
taken to root out the menace, it will not only consume the younger
generation but engulf the whole society.

This was crux of presentations made by a group of doctors,
journalists, lawyers and others during a seminar organized by Khyber
Medical Institute on Drug abuse here on Tuesday.

In his threadbare presentation on Drug Abuse in Kashmir in Current
Scenario, Dr Arshad Hussain consultant Department of Psychiatry
Government Medical College said that drug abuse among youth in
Kashmir has turned into an epidemic.

Tracing history of Drugs in Kashmir, Dr Arshad said many decades ago
licenses were given by government for Charas takers. "It was known as
Charas Takias and was limited to an elite class of people. Even when
there was boom in opium trade in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Kashmir
and its people remained away from the illicit trade as their
religious and social ethos were very strong. Gradually, the people,
mainly youth got addicted to drugs due to many reasons and now it is
spreading like an epidemic," Dr Arshad said.

Quoting findings of a recent survey, he said after monitoring 1271
drug users selected as sample from nine urban sites, he said 70
percent used opium, 20 percent cannabis and rest medicinal opiods.
"In rural areas, 70 percent educated upto matriculation are drug
addicts and unemployment is not reason for all the case. After
survey, it was found that most of them use medicinal opiuds.

"There is no accountability or control in sale of medicines like
corex and diazepam despite circular by the Government. There has to
be a check why a large number of people use corex for cough in a
particular area or village. These are the indicators of drug abuse.
In London, there is such a mechanism that if a person purchases a
bottle of corex, authorities know it. But in Kashmir, medicinal
opiods are sold without prescription," he said.

Senior Correspondent Greater Kashmir, Zulfikar Majid in his
presentation while divulging the details about the rampant drug abuse
in the Valley said, "Thousands of people in the Valley have fallen to
different types of drug abuses over the years and if immediate steps
aren't taken the disaster isn't too far away. Most alarming is the
use of deadly Brown Sugar by the addicts which wasn't prevalent some
years ago."

Asking the government to act fast against those who supply drugs to
the addicts, Zulfikar said, "Chemists supply drugs to almost 50
percent of the addicts, but the government is yet to come up with any
policy. J&K is the only state where Drug Act hasn't been
implemented. Strict laws should be made to punish the drug peddlers.
Even females aren't immune to the problem now and there has been
upsurge in the number of female addicts during last few years."

He stressed the need for conducting a research on scientific basis to
ascertain the reasons for the menace. "Government doesn't have data
and without figures it is difficult to make any policy to coup up
with the problem. A credible research by a team of experts should be
conducted to ascertain the facts."

Zulfikar who has been reporting on drug abuse in Valley over the
years castigated the government for not setting up de-addiction and
rehabilitation centers for the victims. "We don't need amusement
parks, shopping malls and fly-overs, but de-addiction and
rehabilitation center on scientific basis. Here even doctors,
engineers and other professionals too have become addicts and it is
high time to set-up such centers in the Valley," he added.

Advocate Bashir Siddique who is also joint secretary of High Court
Bar Association accused the police of failing to curb the menace. "I
many times called police to arrest the drug addicts, but nothing was
done. Recently police arrested a drug addict and placed him in
lock-up. When blood oozed from his mouth, the concerned SHO asked his
cops to release him instead of taking him to hospital. The SHO
candidly said 'if he dies in lock-up, his relatives will accuse us of
killing him in custody'. Police is helplessly watching destruction
of our young generation," Advocate Bashir said.

He said the situation has now assumed horrendous proportions in
Valley. "Recently 10 students of a reputed school were caught by
police consuming Hashish in Pratap Park. Subsequently the students
were released as they were minors. It is a shame that we don't have
rehabilitation centers here," he said.

Nighat Shafi Pandit, who runs an NGO for orphans and destitute,
blamed parents for the menace. "It is the responsibility of the
parents to monitor activities of their children. You can't blame
government for everything. We have to see how to make government work
in the conflict. When gun and ammunition poured into Valley, we
should have been ready for the prevailing situation too. We want our
children to get cent percent marks and to cope up with the stress
they consume drugs," she said.

Nighat said many girls have been exploited by the drug-peddlers.
"Recently a girl was gang-raped by drug peddlers in a village. Our
orchards are being turned into opium fields. This is high time for
the society to join hands and wipe out the menace and make Kashmir
drug free,"

Dr Das Director Fortis underscored the need for launching anti-drug
awareness across the Valley.

"As a social responsibility endeavor of our hospital we will organize
de-addiction drives, counseling and awareness programs to control the
drug abuse. He said a committee comprising doctors, journalists,
lawyers and other professionals will be formed to chalk out future
course of action. Administrator Khyber Medical Institute Khalid Ahmad
and Marketing Manager Shahana Qutab also spoke on the occasion.