Drug Addiction: A Social Evil Needs Collective Efforts Of Stakeholders To Eradicate

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2024) Sajid Khan, a 48- year-old resident of Pabbi Nowshera was living a happy life with his family until he became a victim of drugs addiction in 2004.

Started hashish in frustration and anxiety after failing to get a dignified job in 2004, Sajid with sobbing eyes said, "the drugs addiction had taken away my honour and prestige in society and snatched bread from my children. I used three to four hashish cigarettes daily after paying Rs400 per cigarette after selling my dowery articles."

"Except mother, my family left me alone when they came to know that I was an a drug addict. I was treated at hospitals several times after developing serious pain in chest and stomach but unable to leave the ugly habit after it polluted my blood," Sajid said while tears rolling down over his cheeks.

Dr. Riaz Khan, a senior medical officer, Govt Hospital Pabbi said that drugs addiction was a social scourge.

He said "we all have just a single life and a single chance to live. Drugs are weapons that destroy people, take away their prestige, beauty and pull them down."

He said such patients feel great stomach pain, diarrhoea, cholera, sleeplessness, weakness and starting water from eyes and ears besides depression, anxiety panic attacks, psychological problems and become non productive to the society.

"The patients whose bloods were polluted by life-threatening drugs including heroine or hashish were prone to restart drugs unless properly look after on consistent basis by their families," he said.

Dr Riaz said that even educated women and men associated with different professions aged 18-50 take drugs through injections while many use tablets and once devoloped pains in kidney consult doctors.

He said such patients were proned to loose kidneys besides become victims of HIV AIDs, TB and Haptitus C that could prove fatal if untreated.

He said most of ice abusers were youth and students of colleges and universities and two weeks to one month are required for rehabilitation after admission.

The treatment of drugs addicts was expensive and around Rs50,000 to Rs 200,000 per patient was being spent to recover, he said.

Dr Riaz said globally, there are great concerns about polio and HIV AIDS but no serious efforts took place to eradicate the menace of drugs addiction and its illicit trafficking affecting about 35 million people worldwide every year.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC0) report 2019 had revealed that an estimated 271 million people aged 15-64 used drugs in 2017, which is 30pc higher of people that took drugs substances in 2009.

Some 35 million people had suffered from drugs disorders in 2017 at global level and only one out of seven drugs patients received medical treatment. Globally, around 11 million people injected drugs in 2017 of whom 1.

4 million become victims of the killer HIV AIDS and 5.6 million of hepatitis C.

The opioids drug users stands at 53.4 million, which is 56 percent higher than the previous year estimate and is responsible for two-third of 585,000 people who died due to drugs addiction in 2017.

Dr Amjad Khan, Incharge Social Welfare Department's Drugs Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre (DTRC), Peshawar said that a national survey conducted in 2013 had revealed that approximately 6.7 million people aged 15-64 had suffered from drugs addiction in Pakistan.

He said about 78 percent male and 22 percent female were diagnosed of taking arious types of drugs substances including opium, cocaine, heroines, ice, medicated and non medicated and injectable drugs.

Likewise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said the numbers of drugs addicts remained 1.6 million people including 78 percent male and 22pc female during 2013.

He said majority of patients of drugs disorders including ice addicts came to the centre belonged to Khyber, Peshawar, Swabi and Charsadda districts due to its increased population and close location with the centre citing various reasons regarding started of drugs and narcotics .

He said the patients history revealed that socioeconomic imbalances, poverty, unemployment, lack of drugs education, family disputes, peers and education pressure and neglect were found major causes of drugs addiction.

He said the number of patients aged 25-40 suffering from ice drugs belonged to middle and elite class are relativelly higher than opium and heroine addicts being treated at DTRC.

He said 11 detox units and drugs rehabilitation centres including Mardan, Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda, Kohat, Karak, Swabi, Swat, Malakabd and DI Khan districts were established for treatment and psychological services to patients.

He said detoxification and rehabilitation centres in 12 districts would be setup in KP besides a model detoxification and rehabilitation centre at Lakki Marwat.

Dr Amjad said the numbers of beds at DTRC would be increased from existing existing 120 to 500.

Besides awareness to counter smuggling of illicit drugs, he said four pronged strategy was adopted focusing on supply reduction, controlling illicit drugs trafficking, treatment and rehabilitation measures in addition to enhance cooperation with national institutions and enforcement agencies in fight against drugs.

He said the regional offices of anti narcotics department in Peshawar, DI Khan, Abbottabad, Swat and Mardan were converted into excise police stations where trained investigation officers deployed to investigate narcotics cases after registration of cases.

The experts said that drugs addiction was a social scourge and collective efforts of all stakeholders were required to win fight against it.

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