Curbing the drug menace

Besides rehabilitating the people who have been enslaved by dependence on hard drugs, there is a need to improve policing

The use of drugs, or rather its abuse, is increasing rapidly in Bangladesh. According to media reports about seven million people are drug addicts in Bangladesh presently. According to sources at different health care facilities, nowadays nearly 10 percent of outpatients are visiting the country’s hospitals with cases of addiction-related complications involving heroin, yaba, marijuana and phensidyl. The trend of drug consumption is higher in youth and teenagers, their age spanning between 15 and 30 years. They come from all strata of the society. Nobody sets out in life to become a drug addict or substance abuser; it is a gradual process, though poverty and unemployment are regularly cited in international studies as to the reasons why people become addicted or substance abusers. Every country in the world has a drug problem, there are no exceptions. Bangladesh has a particularly vulnerable population of people less than 30 years, primarily male, but there is a significant minority of females who are also vulnerable. As with so much else that ails the nation, the drug problem lacks a policy framework and supporting legislation. Of course it is not the government’s duty alone to struggle against this monster of drug addiction. The civil society, academicians, politicians, and other stakeholders should also come forward to make concerted effort to discourage this trend.
Apparently the capabilities of our anti-drug agencies do not match those of international racketeers, who in some cases are said to enjoy support here, is regrettable. Having said that drug menace cannot be viewed as entirely a law and order problem. We would persist in saying that drug addiction is a disease, not a crime. Unfortunately the tendency here is to deny that the problem exists. The family members will never admit that one of their kins is addicted to drugs. This sort of attitude is a serious impediment in combating the problem. After all, the first thing one should do while dealing with any problem is to admit it exists.
 The number of rehabilitation centres for drug addicts is far from enough. More such centres must be established. Besides rehabilitating the young and no-so-young people who have been enslaved by dependence on hard drugs, there is a need to improve policing to ensure the drug barons are arrested and prosecuted to ensure that the country is free of drugs.
Such measures ought to go in tandem with efforts to actively engage young people in income-generating activities, including sports, to ensure that those who benefit from rehabilitation do not relapse and are embraced by their families and society once they change their ways.

Curbing the drug menace

Besides rehabilitating the people who have been enslaved by dependence on hard drugs, there is a need to improve policing

The use of drugs, or rather its abuse, is increasing rapidly in Bangladesh. According to media reports about seven million people are drug addicts in Bangladesh presently. According to sources at different health care facilities, nowadays nearly 10 percent of outpatients are visiting the countrys hospitals with cases of addiction-related complications involving heroin, yaba, marijuana and phensidyl. The trend of drug consumption is higher in youth and teenagers, their age spanning between 15 and 30 years. They come from all strata of the society. Nobody sets out in life to become a drug addict or substance abuser; it is a gradual process, though poverty and unemployment are regularly cited in international studies as to the reasons why people become addicted or substance abusers. Every country in the world has a drug problem, there are no exceptions. Bangladesh has a particularly vulnerable population of people less than 30 years, primarily male, but there is a significant minority of females who are also vulnerable. As with so much else that ails the nation, the drug problem lacks a policy framework and supporting legislation. Of course it is not the governments duty alone to struggle against this monster of drug addiction. The civil society, academicians, politicians, and other stakeholders should also come forward to make concerted effort to discourage this trend. Apparently the capabilities of our anti-drug agencies do not match those of international racketeers, who in some cases are said to enjoy support here, is regrettable. Having said that drug menace cannot be viewed as entirely a law and order problem. We would persist in saying that drug addiction is a disease, not a crime. Unfortunately the tendency here is to deny that the problem exists. The family members will never admit that one of their kins is addicted to drugs. This sort of attitude is a serious impediment in combating the problem. After all, the first thing one should do while dealing with any problem is to admit it exists. The number of rehabilitation centres for drug addicts is far from enough. More such centres must be established. Besides rehabilitating the young and no-so-young people who have been enslaved by dependence on hard drugs, there is a need to improve policing to ensure the drug barons are arrested and prosecuted to ensure that the country is free of drugs. Such measures ought to go in tandem with efforts to actively engage young people in income-generating activities, including sports, to ensure that those who benefit from rehabilitation do not relapse and are embraced by their families and society once they change their ways.