‘30% students in Bangalore hooked to drugs’

About 30% of students in Bangalore are drug addicts. This includes high school and college students, and those pursuing engineering and medical courses.

Small shops located close to reputed schools in the city peddle drugs.

Each year the number of drug addicts is growing by 15%.

Drug addiction is no longer confined to the affluent and the poor; the middle class is also under its grip.

Sachidananda Hegde, chairman, Karnataka State Temperance Board, revealed these facts on Saturday. “These are the findings of a research conducted by Lions Institute,” he said. “We have also found that the menace of drug addiction is rapidly spreading to small towns, and it has become a challenge for the administration.”

Addiction is not just about using hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

Many addicts, especially schoolchildren, were found sniffing smoke after lighting a bundle of discarded cigarette butts.

“They collect these butts strewn on road, discarded by smokers,” Hegde said. “Petrol sniffing and whitener sniffing is also increasing among children at an alarming rate.”

The survey revealed that small shops operating near reputed high schools have become drug zones. “We have exact information on this. Children are using drugs from these shops. We must take immediate steps to curb these developments,” Hegde said.

He said rave parties are another reason for the rapid spread of drugs among the youth. Today, these parties are held in small towns and villages, and they influence the youth and children to use drugs. The parties often act as a platform to initiate many into drug addiction and add to the existing number of addicts.

Why they get hooked
Human beings are basically emotional creatures. Parents have forgotten this and they concentrate only on their children’s academic performance. They fail to notice that a huge vacuum is created when children do not get emotional support. This vacuum is filled by drugs and alcohol. Before kids fall prey to these vices, parents should fill the vacuum with culture and etiquette.

According to Hegde, parents, even working couples, can do this by devoting an hour or two to their children. They should talk to their children about their health and involve them in activities such as yoga and surya namaskara. It is also important to cultivate spirituality among children.

Once parents realise that their son or daughter is a drug addict, they should immediately take them to a psychiatrist for remedial measures. The best example is how the family of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt brought him to the mainstream after he had become addicted to drugs, Hegde said.