In a startling revelation, it has come to fore that eight per cent population in Jammu and Kashmir is addicted to drugs with experts suggesting that the “only percentage known is the one that is being reported, seeks treatment and that happens at an advanced stage.”
According to Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment figures shared in the Lok Sabha nearly 10 lakh people in J&K consume various kinds of drugs. The population of J&K, according to the 2011 census, is 1.25 crore.
The figures reveal that estimated 1,08,000 males and 36,000 females were found using Cannabis in the Union Territory (UT) while as 5,34,000 males and 8,000 females were found in the dragnet of Opioids and 1,60,000 males and 8,000 females were found using sedatives of different kinds.
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Similarly, 1,27,000 males and 7,000 females were noticed using inhalants and a large number of males and females were addicts of cocaine, Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS) and Hallucinogens in the J&K, it added.
The patient-intake records at the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) Srinagar, a premium rehab facility, attests to the problem’s spiraling nature.
Dr Muhammad Maqbool Dar, Head of the Psychiatry Department at Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, said that the drug abuse menace in Kashmir had crossed all the barriers and now cases are found everywhere.
“We even receive cases of people who are married. Even minor boys are getting addicted to drugs and substances, and it's a serious public health issue,” he said.
According to Dr Yasir Rather, a professor of psychiatry at IMHANS Srinagar, the increasing crime graph in Kashmir may be linked to the spike in heroin abusers, with users turning to burglary and even murder in their desperation for the drug.
“The tidal wave of uncertainty that defines a conflict region as well as growing financial distress are the major causes for the drug menace in Kashmir,” he told DH.
Dr Rather said earlier drug addicts used to come from specific areas and districts “but now these patients were coming from every nook and corner of Kashmir.”
“We have patients from well-off families as well. Uneducated, educated, and even professionals are involved in drug abuse. It is an alarming situation right now,” he said.