Chitrali youth falling to Narco culture

Chitral --The use of narcotics specially hashish (chars) has taken roots in Chitral specially amongst the youth. Hashish is the most consumed item due to it's easy availability and relatively low price. It has also been learned that students in educational institutions are taking to tranquilizers etc to help them release tension and study more.

Also in vogue is the use of steroids in the form of capsules with different names like 'Sehat capsules' freely available in the market with medical stores and hakeems.  Not to talk of locally brewed alcoholic spirit with hallucinatory pills added to it, is again a raging hobby with those who can afford it.

Chitralis because of their inherent trait of insecurity are basically short cutters who want quick fixes for everything including health and happiness and it is the duty of the social leaders to set correct examples and teach and preach the healthy way of spending life to the simple and impressionable people. -- CN report, 19 Dec 2011.

Comment 1

I am thankful to the very educated and sincere writers of Chitral News for their nice suggestions and guidance. I think we can solve the Drugs prevention in Chitral by considering the following solutions.

Firstly, As majority of the addicts were less or not educated, as well as not aware of the consequences of the drug abuses so it is deemed most important to create awareness in the community and aware them of the adverse effects of drugs addiction as well the measures to recover from this. This awareness can be brought through community stakeholders (teachers, religious clerics, educated people, activists etc.), Government agencies such as anti-narcotic department, NGOs’ social mobilizers, and so on.

Secondly as it was also concluded from the research that people with some domestic stress and tensions due to lack of employment opportunities were mostly vulnerable to drug addiction to relieve their tensions and in taking different substances as immediate relieving remedy. Lack of supervision, leisure time with no creative activities and sitting idle and free availability of the drugs are also major reasons for promoting addiction. So development efforts must also to be directed for improvement and engaging jobless and younger cadre in some creative activities as well as deliberating vocational skills and exploring job opportunities for them.

Thirdly, education and drug addiction are inversely proportional to each other and it was also revealed from the study results that those with less or no education were highly tending to drugs as compared to those with proper education and well grooming. So if the measures are taken to reduce the illiteracy rate in the area, the rate of drugs addiction will automatically be reduced.
 

Fourthly, rehabilitation centers should also be established for those who want a rid from this habit. Proper awareness campaigns should be conducted in the area to aware people about the pros and cons .

Last but not least, the role of law enforcing agencies is most important than all. It implies the proper check and balance in the community as well as on outsiders coming from other part of country and across the borders. -- Ahmad Shah, Arkari Chitral 20 Dec 2011.
 

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