Uttam Maharjan

Drug abuse is a formidable challenge in society. It not only harms drug users but also their families, community and nation. Drug abuse has assumed global proportions. As such, different countries have enacted different laws. In our context, drug abuse is considered a heinous crime.
Drug abuse started in Nepal in the early 1970s, when the hippie culture flourished. At the time, tourists used to come to Nepal to use drugs. In Kathmandu, Jho Chhen was popular as a den for drug users so much so that the area became notorious as Freak Street. Later, drug users made the Thamel area their junction. At the time, drugs like ganja (hemp), marijuana and charas (hashish) were openly sold.

Kind of drugs
There are mainly three kinds of drugs. Legal drugs include alcohol, cigarettes, and tobacco and related products; illicit drugs include such substances as hemp, charas, heroin and opium; and controlled drugs include diazepam, buprenorphine, methadone and so on. It may be noted that the use of legal drugs like alcohol, tobacco and cigarettes may lead to addiction of narcotics. So such drugs are considered entry points to drug addiction.
Youths pick up drug abuse mainly from friends. Data show that around 70 per cent youths acquire drug abuse from friends. There are several factors responsible for growing drug abuse. Poverty, unemployment, frustration, family problems, lack of family care, peer pressure and the like are contributory factors to drug abuse. Not only men but also women have fallen victim to drug abuse.
Drug abuse engenders violent and aggressive behaviour in youths. Such behaviour leads to concerns about public health and social security. Drug abuse may lead youths astray and they may indulge in crime. They may commit theft, robbery, rape, murder and other crimes under the influence of drugs. It is highly likely that they may meet with road accidents as they usually drive under the influence of drugs.
As per the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), the number of drug users is growing day by day. The number of drug users worldwide is estimated at 5 per cent of the global population. And over 10 per cent of the drug users are problem drug users. They are suffering from drug use disorders or drug dependence. Around 50 per cent of the problem drug users are mainliners. They use injectable drugs. Drug abuse causes deadly diseases like hepatitis B, HIV-AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Heroin users and intravenous drugs users (IDUs) are more prone to contracting such diseases. Drug abuse may also cause premature deaths, especially from overdose. As per the 2020 World Drug Report of the UNDOC, around 269 million people used drugs in 2018 and around 35 million people suffered from drug use disorders in that year.
In Nepal, the number of drug users is estimated at 60,000. Heroin addicts and IDUs are surmised at 20,000. Sixty-eight per cent of the IDUs are believed to be HIV positive. Most of them are multi-drug users. However, there are no accurate data on drug addicts in the country. So a nation-wide survey needs to be conducted to ascertain the actual number of drug addicts.
It has been exigent to control drug abuse. There are mainly two strategies for controlling drug abuse: demand reduction and supply control. Under demand reduction, stakeholders, social organisations, rehabilitation centres and affected families come together to cooperate to control drug abuse. Educational and awareness programmes are also launched so as to sensitise people of the bad effects of drugs on youths, families and society. Other aspects include treatment, detoxification, drug substitution, psychosocial counselling and willpower-enhancing programmes.
In a similar vein, under supply control, production of, transport of and trafficking in drugs are controlled with the help of the government and governmental and non-governmental organisations. Under this strategy, hemp plants are destroyed and farmers are encouraged to plant other cash-generating plants. Further, precursor chemicals used in the production of various medicines are reduced or removed and smuggling of drugs is controlled by keeping watch on drug traffickers. Provision of harsh punishment for the culprits is also part of this strategy.
There are challenges to overcoming drug abuse. There is a legal mechanism in Nepal to punish drug users, drug peddlers and drug traffickers. When they are released from jail after serving the prescribed time, they may resume drug abuse, peddling or trafficking. So those who have been in the legal net need to be educated about the negative effects of drugs on themselves, their families and their society. There should, therefore, be reform provisions in the relevant laws so that drug users will not relapse into drug abuse and drug peddlers or traffickers will quit their abominable jobs.

Concerted efforts
To create a society free from drug abuse, it is essential to prescribe the curriculum on drug abuse from school level. Local governments may be mobilised to control drug abuse in society. Viewed thus, the local governments have an added responsibility for making a drug abuse-free society. As the police are playing a praiseworthy role in controlling drug abuse, a community-police partnership may prove to be an effective tool for curbing drug abuse. Nationwide awareness programmes on curbing drug abuse also need to be launched, making people aware of the harmful effects of drugs and punitive action like fines and imprisonment. Parents or families should also keep an eye on their wards' activities in view of the fact that peer pressure and bad company may lead to drug abuse.
Since drug abuse drains people of their energy that may otherwise be used in productive sectors, there should be concerted efforts on the part of families, communities, police, all the three tiers of government and other stakeholders to nip drug abuse in the bud. For this, drug users should be provided with free treatment at rehabilitation centres with psychosocial counselling so that they can come back to normal life, while even harsher punishment should be meted out to drug peddlers, traffickers and smugglers.

(Former banker, Maharjan has been regularly writing on contemporary issues for this daily since 2000. uttam.maharjan1964@gmail.com)