The term "drug" refers to any substance that is psychoactive or psychotropic. Psychotropic or psychoactive substances affect mental functions, mood, emotion, behaviour, and cognition, among other things. Prescription drugs such as antidepressants and pain relievers, as well as alcohol and other illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin, are all psychoactive substances that can be classified as drugs. Alcohol and tobacco are the most commonly abused drugs among adolescents, followed by marijuana. Cannabis is considered to be the most commonly used drug among teenagers.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's 2021 World Drug Report, around 275 million people used drugs in the previous year, with over 36 million suffering from drug use disorders (UNODC). (1)
Principles of adolescent substance use disorder: the real reason why teens do drugs
To fit in – In pursuit of coolness, teens use drugs to fit in with the culture. Abstaining from drugs is considered a social stigma, peers don’t accept them in their social circle.
To feel good/better — consuming drugs aids in affecting the brain's neuro-cells, which in turn causes pleasure, ecstasy, and euphoria, whose intensity increases based on the type of drug consumed. Eg: Heroin, Codeine, Morphine.
If a teen is suffering from failure, stress, anxiety, or any other disorder, drug use alleviates these feelings of distress. Eg: Alcohol and Benzodiazepines like Xanax, Klonopin
To experiment — the adolescent period brings about a plethora of hormonal changes in an individual's body, which motivates him or her to try new things and go on new adventures. (2)
Factors that indulged students into drug use
Social media- Adolescents are being exposed to drugs in new and dangerous ways thanks to social networking sites. Teens are especially vulnerable to the effects of what they see on social media because they are more susceptible to peer pressure and peer influences. Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat provide an environment where children are exposed to both famous and ordinary people engaging in risky drug and alcohol-related behaviours.
Film Industry: Celebrities serve as role models for the general public. People are influenced by the way these actors and actresses dress, eat, and live, and adolescents are no exception. The Aryan Khan drug-cruise case is the most recent example.
Now the question comes whether this consumption of drugs falls under the ambit of Indian Law or not?
Indian laws say that it is strictly illegal to produce /manufacture /cultivate, possess, sell, purchase, transport, store, and/or consume any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance is illegal under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropics Substances (NDPS) Act, 2014. Consumption of drugs such as cocaine, morphine, and heroin can result in a one-year prison sentence, a fine of up to Rs. 20,000, or both. Other drugs carry a penalty of up to six months in prison or a fine of up to Rs. 10,000, or both.(3)
Even the legal age of consuming alcohol ranges from 18 to 25 in the different states. There are some states where liquor is banned completely like Gujarat, Bihar, etc.
Comparing with the world, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland are among a handful of countries that have decriminalized drug use and possession for personal use. 18 states in the US have decriminalized marijuana for personal and recreational purposes.
Smuggling of drugs: from where do these people get drugs from?
India has been a traditional consumer of opium and cannabis like bhang, ganja and hashish. The majority of these narcotics were used for medicinal purposes, recreation or religious ceremonies. In India, more than 80 percent of the drugs come from Pakistan according to the EU reporter. India is the third largest manufacturer of the pharmaceutical drugs by volume in the world. It requires precursors like opium and cannabis to produce medical use drugs. Though the cultivation and sale of these substances is regulated by licensing and stringent laws, illicit parallel markets have come up in India.(4)
There are pedlars who help people procure drug clandestinely. The underworld drug syndicates have an organized activity in trading drugs. One such example, a man (Sahoo, 19) in Odisha had ordered 10 cartons disguised under cashew nuts, he was caught with 411kg of cannabis worth 41lakhs.
In another case of Ram Bharose v the State, the accused was charged with violating the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act's Sections 21/25/29. (NDPS Act). An anticipatory bail pleas was signed by the accused but was dismissed by the Sessions court.(5)
Impact on youth and society
Drug abuse has a severe impact on the academics. Abstaining from school, declining grades, spending on drugs results into dropping out of school. Overdosing, accidents including drink and drive accident and diseases like HIV, AIDS are health-related consequences are lethal factors or drug abuse. Mental health problems, such as depression, personality disorders, suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, and suicide, are more common in substance-abusing youth than in nonusers. Marijuana use has been shown to interfere with short-term memory, learning, and psychomotor skills in adolescents.
An individual’s milieu, his social standing has a worse impact of all. Due to drug abuse, individual is alienated from his family, friends and even the society disengages with him, this may cost him his death. This behaviour is equivalent to a person having an extra-marital affair.
Conclusion
India should enact more stringent laws to prevent the country's future from being jeopardised. Youth should focus on the career then on the illicit illegal things. The film industry should be more careful about producing movies or series that may influence our youth to take the wrong path. India will prosper only when its youth is in the right shoes.
Reference
1. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/wdr2021.html
4. https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-2839-drug-trafficking-in-india.html