The recent crackdown on drug use in Delhi revealed that eighty percent of children in Old and New Seemapuri areas were victims of drug abuse. A study conducted by the Society for the Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM) revealed the youngest child to be only seven years old.
It is a shocking revelation indeed to know that youngsters are consuming drugs, as they would otherwise consume candies.
Factors for Substance Abuse among Children
The factors for the consumption of drugs among children include peer pressure, stress-related problems, and loneliness, among others.
This along with the easy availability of drugs like Cocaine and Heroin, contribute towards making drug consumption as easy as the simple dial of a number.
Both the Wealthy and the Poor are Victims of Drug Abuse
While reports reveal that it is children of the slums of Seemapuri who are victims of substance abuse, the truth lies in the fact that both rich and poor are prey to drug peddlers.
Take the case of Hyderabad for instance. Reports reveal that children of the wealthy who are studying in private schools are consuming drugs on a regular basis. It is a booming business out there.
What does India’s Geographical Location have to do with it?
India is situated between two well-known illicit opium producing areas in Asia, the Golden Crescent (Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan) and the Golden Triangle (Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and Thailand). As a result, Delhi being the center of India and a melting pot of various cultures of the world has easily attracted various drug smugglers.
Director of the Delhi Zonal Unit (NCB), Madho Singh, stated that it is mainly through border routes and air routes that drugs like heroin are smuggled.
How bad is the situation in India?
Dozens of patients queue up at the AIIMS- run National Drug Treatment Centre in Uttar Pradesh. The lush-green facility is a temporary haven for a section of children deprived of a safe, drug-free childhood.
However, the facility is a temporary one. As a result, most of the patients leaving such facilities revert to their old habits and the unending cycle of drug-consumption.
Various Acts like the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act, 1985 have been imposed to curb the menace of drug abuse. Authorities have imposed stringent laws to check the inflow of goods into the country. However, the problem of drug use continues to this very moment.
Drugs contribute to a large number of health-related issues as well as a large number of deaths in the country.
Drugs have Replaced Innocence
On the brighter side, children have a higher chance of recovery from drug addiction as their years of addiction are lesser than adults.
Delhi is just a model for the rising substance abuse India. Such issues are prevalent in every state and it is the children who are paying the price.
Their innocence has been replaced by drugs.
How did this come to be? Did we need the media to expose this chilling truth? Do we need more stringent laws to stop the growing menace? How can it be stopped?
It is a painful truth.
Image Credits: Google Images
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