A study conducted by the Indian government revealed that more than 860,000 young men take some form of drugs. These victims range from 15 to 35 years old. Majority of these drug users come from the progressive state of Punjab, feared to be at the verge of losing an entire generation to drugs.
Almost 53% of all drug addicts here prefer Heroin. However, opium and synthetic drugs like crystal methamphetamine are also commonly sold. It has also been estimated that more than two-thirds of Punjab's households have at least one addict in the family. The most common places in which teenagers snort and smoke drugs together include cemeteries, abandoned buildings and simple plain fields. The district of Tarn Taran, which is located along the border with Pakistan, has been reported to be one of the worst affected areas. Alongside this district, the long-standing drugs epidemic has been sweeping the nation.
The BBC reported that the accessibility of drugs in the area can be blamed to the town’s unrestricted transactions done publicly, even in broad daylight. Potential consumers were approached by peddlers. Buyers need to hand money swiftly before receiving a little packet. Even in the town’s civil hospital, also the center of eradicating drug addiction, young men with “glazed eyes” are also visible.
According to First Post, the drug menace in Punjab has grown widespread because politicians from opposing parties have been distorting facts, and most often than not, presenting them as half-truths. The ruling government party has claimed that the drug problem in their district has just been blown out of proportion because of politics.
Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in February 2016 even said that only 0.06 out of the 2.77 core population of the state has been proven positive of abusing drugs. This, Badal added, is the lowest percentage across the nation". A recent study revealed that drug abuse can trigger schizophrenia for the user.
