Drug abuse is a psychiatric, psychological and social problem affecting the youth of the country. It ruins the individual and the society in manifold ways—socially, physically, culturally, emotionally and economically. Acting on the brain, the drug spawns a wide range of disorders like fear, anxiety and a sense of insecurity in the human mind.
There are certain drug like nicotine, cocaine and caffeine that stimulate the brain and the nervous system resulting in increased alertness and response. Addiction to such drugs causes a severe loss of appetite and weight, constipation, increased anxiety and irritability, sleeplessness and gradual impaiment of intellectual functioning. There are sedative drugs like opium, morphine, heroin, codeine that slow down the activities of the individual and make the brain and nervous system dull. Consequently, they are used as pain relievers and sleep inducers and may be classified as narcotics and hypnotics. The hypnotic drugs include barbiturates. Addiction to narcotics causes loss of appetite and weight, constipation, lack of sexual desire and declining interest in sociability. Barbiturates and other hypnotic drugs affect the brain, thereby triggering intellectual impairment. The sudden withdrawal of sedative drugs causes a host of withdrawal complications like restlessness, nevousness, excessive perspiration, nausea, severe headache and painful muscular cramps. Withdrawal of hypnotic drugs might lead to epileptic seizures and delirium.
Drugs can reduce cognitive operations, making it difficult for the youth of develop a functional set of values and ideals. Reduced cognitve efficiency leads to poor academic performance and a decline in self-esteem, contributing to disturbance in personality growth.
When a man starts drug addiction, he becomes addicted to it for ever and goes on increasing its dose. In the first phase of drug addiction his brain cells become irritated and his faculties of rationality, i.e., judgement, observation and attention get blunted and he becomes the victim of sub-clinical stage. In the second phase, the addict feels as if he is not aware of his own self and such and psychic trauma leads him to the condition of stmulation. In the third phase, as the victim increases the dosage and frequency, he loses his physical balance and muscular coordination. The addict is now a prisoner of confusion and is fast digging his own grave.
Drug addiction distorts family ties and causes family disorganisation, creating marital discord, divorce and the socialisation failure of children. It also shatters the codes of normal values which create value shock. In due course, the addict gets alienated from the mainstream of family, neghbourhood and society.
There are today more than 254 counselling/de-addiction centres/aftercare centres. These centres have come to the rescue of several thousand addicts and their rehabilitation and aftercare is a vital link in the crusade against drug abuse. The fact that the community is taking a leading role in the rehabilitation of addicts is testified by the fact that a total of 166 NGOs are running 97 rehabilitation centres for the treatment of drug addicts.
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