Substance abuse rampant

The findings of the latest study by the PGI, Chandigarh, on drug abuse in Punjab come as no surprise: substance use in the beleaguered state continues rampantly, with more than three million addicts — mostly men — in the vicious grip of some harmful drug or the other. More importantly, the survey, which is aimed at giving muscle to the preventive steps and strategies, indirectly exposes another well-known but bitter truth: the abject failure of the successive governments to break the backbone of the drug mafia over the past couple of decades. Taming the drug lords with quick and deterrent penalties holds the key to preventing the vulnerable youth from going astray and wasting away.

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The youngsters must be steered towards the right path — socially, mentally and physically. Only an able Gen Next can pull the stressed state out of its depths of socio-economic ruin and propel it to the days of resplendent glory and prosperity. Nothing signifies more the looming dark clouds over Punjab than the exodus of hordes of promising young men and women to foreign lands. Parents, too, are willing to put everything at stake to send their wards abroad as they fear for them falling into the trap of substance abuse here. The huge consignments of drugs smuggled in regularly and little corresponding headway in catching and punishing the influential operators tells the bleak tale of a Punjab bled dry. The dreams of a bright future in the state are fast turning into nightmares.

The huge burden of substance dependence and addiction inflicting the state is apparent from the fact that 18 of the 272 most affected districts by drug abuse in the country are in Punjab. But the road map to ending this menace, including educating students about its ill effects and banning liquor and tobacco sale around schools and colleges, have hit road bumps. For example, the government’s ‘Tu Mera Buddy’ scheme launched in 2018 to make Punjab ‘nasha mukt’ was later found to have been diluted to being the ‘Buddy Group’, a virtual platform for learners during the Covid era of online teaching.