Prevalence of Drug Abuse in India
- As per a study was conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) the 2019 report, 14.6% of the population uses alcohol.
- India is sandwiched between the two largest Opium producing regions of the world that is the Golden triangle on one side and the Golden crescent on the other.
- The golden crescent area includes Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
- The golden triangle area comprises Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos,
Reasons for Drug Abuse
- Family history of addiction
- Mental health disorder
- Peer pressure
- Lack of family involvement
- Early use
- Taking highly addictive drugs.
- To be accepted by the peers
- Increasing economic stress
- Changing cultural values
- Experimentation
- Neurotic pleasure
- Ineffective Policing
Harmful Effects of Drug Abuse
- Change in heart rate
- Change in blood pressure
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Psychosis
- Change in appetite
- The long-term effects are listed below.
- Heart disease
- Lung disease
- Cancer
- AIDS
- Hepatitis
- Increase in violence
- Economic potential gets wasted
- Affects relationships with family, friends creating emotional and social problems
- Increases financial burden
- Women face domestic violence
Battle against Drug Abuse in India
- Government will roll out its Action Plan for 2020-21 known as Nasha Mukt Bharat.
- The Focus of the plan will be to build treatment and drug de-addiction facilities in 272 districts identified as vulnerable based on access to drugs and prevalence of substance abuse.
- Among the 272 Vulnerable districts identified Uttar Pradesh has 33 vulnerable districts, Punjab (18 districts), Delhi (11 districts), Gujarat (8 districts) and Maharashtra (Pune, Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur).
- India – Signatory of Various International Treaties and Conventions to Combat Drug Menace
India is a signatory of the following international treaties and conventions to combat the menace of Drug Abuse
- United Nations (UN) Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961)
- United Nations (UN) Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971).
- United Nations (UN) Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988)
- Transnational Convention Crime (2000)