News and Update

Times of India
26 June 2010
Laxmi Birajdar
Pune, India

Inferiority complex and unrestricted resources drove this youth to brown sugar. He injected it for seven years and enjoyed the high the shots gave him each time.

“Those moments made me feel like a king. But within the first eight months, I lost over 20 kg. I had to take psychiatric treatment for three years after I confessed to my elder brother about my addiction,” said the youth.

When his addiction got worse, his family disowned him and he was left penniless. “My addiction brought me on the streets. I was sent to a mental asylum when I grew aggressive,” he said.

He blew up a few lakhs of rupees on acquiring the drug. “I did brown sugar for fun. But I got hooked and lost my balance. Soon my life began to go haywire,” he said.

Help came from Narcotics Anonymous, a support group. “I began attending the group’s meetings and kept going back. It took me a long time to come out of my addiction. But it has been three years and I have stayed clean,” he said. The ‘one–day–at–a–time’ principle guided him and he has now taken up a job.

The change has been perceptible. “I am more responsible now and more caring of my family. I value my relationships with other people and I’m much more careful with money now,” he added.

Another addict said he built faith and prayed. “This is my motivation against drugs,” he said.

“Many are afraid to start afresh after overcoming the addiction. But once they look at a former addict like me who is now healthy, they get some inspiration,” said counsellor Dutta Shrikhande who works at Muktangan De–addiction Centre. He got addicted to brown sugar in the 1980s, but took up deaddiction and has stayed clean since 1992.

Deputy commissioner of police Rajendra Dahale said that most of the suspects arrested for drug peddling are from Khadki, Mundhwa, Yerawada, Pimpri and Chinchwad.

• The United Nations’ (UN) International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking falls on June 26 each year. It raises awareness about drugs . This day is supported by individuals, communities and various organisations all over the world.
• The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has, over the years, been actively involved in launching campaigns to mobilise support for this cause
• According to the UNODC, nearly 200 million people are using drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, hallucinogens, opiates and sedative hypnotics worldwide. In December 1987, the UN General Assembly decided to observe June 26 as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
• The UN was determined to help create an international society free of drug abuse. This resolution recommended further action with regard to the report and conclusions of the 1987 International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
• Following the resolution, the years 1991 to 2000 were heralded as the “United Nations Decade Against Drug Abuse”. In 1998 the UN General Assembly adopted a political declaration to address the global drug problem. The declaration expresses UN members’ commitment to fighting the problem.