The revelation of drug abuse in the country’s educational institutions, including schools, is alarming and requires parents and teachers to monitor the activities of children, while law enforcement agencies should pay more attention to blocking the avenues of drug distribution.

In a symposium organized by the Directorate of Private Institutions and All Sindh Private Schools and Colleges Association in a hotel in Karachi, Joint Director of the Anti-Narcotics Force, said that the use of drugs among thirteen to seventeen-year-old students is increasing. Increasingly, female students are also included in large numbers among them.  The promotion of drugs among the young generation is causing problems for every aspect of life on the one hand, on the other hand new methods of theft and other crimes are emerging to fulfill the drug addiction.

75% of children do drugs for fun. Many of these children later become addicted and play into the hands of drug dealers. Given these facts, it is not right to simply be satisfied that a large number of people associated with drugs have been punished. The main thing is to eliminate the possibility of drug proliferation.

According to Additional Director of Private Schools Rafia Javed, there is a need to educate children to prevent drug abuse. The opinion of the participants of the discussion is that parents should talk to the children about this topic from time to time because sometimes the children do not know that they are taking drugs. School administrations should also be vigilant and contact parents and district administration as soon as they come to know about drug activity.

The increasing trend of drugs in Pakistan’s educational institutions is no longer hidden from anyone, whereas on 16 September 2018, the Supreme Court Lahore took notice of the use of drugs in private and public educational institutions, after which a wave of concern spread across the country, including the Senate. So far no measures have been taken to prevent it.

Despite the repeated raising of this important issue by the media, the relevant institutions are criminally silent. The moment of concern and tragedy is that some drugs such as cigarettes, snuff and hashish have become so popular that they have been given the status of national drugs, while ice and crystal meth have also been added to this list. A year and a half ago, there was an epidemic of “sheesha”, but due to the ban imposed by the government, there was a decrease in it. Despite the fact that ice is sold for Rs 5,000 to 10,000 in a street market, its trend is growing rapidly among students. One of the main reasons for the popularity of ice can be that its user can stay awake for four days straight, so most students use ice to prepare for exams. And the practice is that the students living in the educational institutions, especially the hostels, fill their cigarettes with ice and drink while this drug is also taken through injection. The use of narcotic chewing gum is more common in Pakistan, and in Pakistan imported from Thailand and Europe, and chewing gum is becoming popular among teenagers, which is sold for between 500 and 1200 rupees. Students who chew it stay drunk for hours. It has also come to light that most of the students who are addicted to drugs in schools belong to rich families who consider drug use as a fashion but the worrying thing is that our young generation does not understand drugs as a bad thing nor are they aware of its implications.

Easy availability plays a major role in the drug’s popularity. A report says that school, college and university general stores, canteens, fruit shops, hotels, laundries, child-carrying taxi and rickshaw drivers and barber shops are among the leading drug suppliers, as well as guards of some private educational institutions, have also been found involved in this work.

The drug dealers have also modernized the way of selling poison with the new age. Today, Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media channels are the most effective means of drug delivery.

According to a report, currently the number of drug addicts in Pakistan has exceeded 7.6 million, of which 78% are men and 22% are women. Drug addicts include people between the ages of 13 and 24 who have had one or more addictions.

There is a clear difference between rich and poor people in Pakistan because drugs are not cheap anymore. The wealthy class likes to use ice crystals, meth, hashish and heroin as well as various drugs while the middle class resort to pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol, hashish, paan, gutka, snuff and cigarettes etc.

According to the last national survey conducted in this regard (2002-2003), the average age of people suffering from heroin addiction has decreased from 26 years to an alarming level of 22 years. At the moment, the most popular addiction is smoking, which people do not even consider as an addiction. One such affluent woman explained that smoking is “a status symbol for them” and that they have to do it in order to maintain their western style of living and there is nothing wrong with it.

While drug addiction leads to human destruction, it also gives rise to many social and societal evils. Drug addicts include, on the one hand, people who are rejected or burdened by failure, and on the other hand, rich amateur drug addicts who use drugs for a change or adventure in their daily life. The worrying thing is that a large number of them are young girls who are studying in various educational institutions and the use of drugs among their friends is common. They are becoming addicted to marijuana to control their weight. The need of the hour is that people belonging to all walks of life of the society should make united efforts to eradicate drugs from the society. For the complete elimination of drugs, systematic education and continuous support of the community are essential, while awareness programs need to be designed and implemented effectively. In this way, a better and more prosperous future can be guaranteed for every member of the society.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 20 2023

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