War against drugs

The slightest mention of drug use and overdose pops into our minds the macho voice of Pablo Escobar echoing through an episode of the Netflix original “Narcos”. Wouldn’t our lives be a lot easier if drugs were indeed only a part of the narcos world and had nothing to do with our reality? Unfortunately not. Drugs today are deeply inbreeded in our society. More than what a normal person would think.

There was a time teenagers had to find spots and take a drag or two from a cigarette that one of them scored from an elder cousin. Sadly, those were the easier days. Though, smoking in itself is dreadfully harmful however, it is nowhere compared to the drugs being used today. A puff here and there was not as harmful as the drugs prevalent these days.

The issue of drugs is multi-layered. It begins with parenting. First, we need to identify the problem so as to work out a solution and then successfully execute it. When it comes to parenting, there is a set of parents who are so strict that their children would rather wet their beds instead of having a conversation with them. Second comes the set of parents who are not willing to accept and acknowledge reality. They would conveniently turn a blind eye to any existing predicaments rather than facing them. Last but not least is the ones with a careless attitude. Both the parents are either too pre-occupied with their work routines to focus on their children or worse, might be partaking themselves which in turn leaves a negative impression on their own children.

Apart from parenting, the second most important problem with drugs is how readily they are available. There was a time when a student or two at a dingy tuition center would have access to a guy who would supply them with drugs. Regrettably enough the drugs are as readily available as cigarettes at a convenience store. Schools, tuition centers, gaming cafes, snooker and billiard clubs and cafes are some of the places where the young lot hands around the most. It is at these places drugs are available to them. I have even come across people getting drugs delivered right at their door steps.

The use of drugs has become so common that it is not only alarming, it has already spread like an epidemic. Every now and then we hear of young deaths due to overdose. There are even some poor souls present who desperately want to get out of their misery but do not have access to fine rehabilitation which would encourage and keep them away from such stuff.

A vast majority of teenagers these days, boy and girls alike, are actively partaking in the use of one or more forms of drugs. It comes as no surprise that hard drugs are readily available to the younger generation of today. You would think what happens if any of these children are caught with drugs? A certain class gets away scot free for being the son of a high up or just plainly well-connected. The rest pay a nominal fee which they term as necessary expense to the police team catching them and off they go.

There are even unconfirmed reports of serving police officials supplying drugs at cheaper prices. Most of the stuff they supply is caught during raids so the cost price is free. A few uniformed gentlemen reportedly also offer discounts while soliciting for drugs.

Having identified drug use to be a major predicament, the next step would be to actively curb it. To begin with, the talk of urine testing of all students uniformly is a step in the right direction. For children during such unsettled age, the drug test would instill fear and act as a deterrent. In the future this drug test should be extended to include long-lasting punishments for those found to have positive results. For instance, an academic probation or similar methods.

The parents should actively involve themselves in their children’s daily activities and keep a close eye on the company they keep. Most importantly, the parents shouldn’t be fooled by the innocent, smiling faces of the childhood friends. These days all sorts of children are involved in the use and abuse of drugs to utmost misfortune. But at the same time, parents shouldn’t react aggressively if they catch their children at it. Remember, the generation of today is highly vulnerable to taking extreme steps such as suicide. A balance should be carved out to keep the children at bay from drugs.

Conclusively, the most important responsibility rests on the shoulders of the state. It was heard that the PM was actively pursuing drug dealers in the capital. The same approach should be extended to the rest of the country as well. The state should take responsibility for its failures and craft out an effective anti-drug policy which would ensure its eradication. Even if drastic measures have to be employed, then so be it. Nothing can be more important than securing the lives and future of our children. If we do not act today, then the children of tomorrow will be destroyed. The use of drugs acts like a cancer which over time will cripple the nation if not controlled today.

A full-scale operation should be launched against the dealers supplying different forms of poison to our children. Backed with proof, even the use of the death penalty enshrined under Section 9-C of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 wouldn’t be harmful in the larger interests. The law, as always, is present. We just require its effective implementation. By bringing the schools on board, the state in connivance should take effective measures to eradicate the use of drugs. Otherwise, we might not have narco-terrorism present in our country, at the moment, but it won’t be long before we do have it in one form or the other.

Our children deserve saving, let us move forward and save them.