KARACHI:
Recently, the Lahore police released a report, which revealed that within the last six months, the police found 102 bodies of chronic addicts across the city. The police report urged the provincial government to turn shelter homes into rehabilitation centres as there are millions of addicts across Lahore who are dying on roadsides.
Financial hardships, health problems, peer pressure, homelessness, vulnerable circumstances, and many other reasons compel people to consume drugs. Drug abuse and addiction amongst the youth have become increasingly common because of the absence of supervision and the inability to fully realise the long-term impacts. Traffickers also target vulnerable people to either abuse drugs or sell them to others. Resultantly, different forms of drugs are readily available, and the menace is running rampant in the city. Even young children on the streets have access to drugs and often form a chronic addiction. Most chronic addicts suffer from mental and physical diseases such as depression, HIV, hepatitis, etc. This indicates that drug abuse is no longer an isolated problem, and the authorities will be required to address the problem on different fronts.
Besides creating rehabilitation facilities, the government must provide free or subsidised healthcare along with counselling or psychological support for long-term recovery and smooth reintegration into society. These services should be provided within Punjab and across the country. Also, a widespread awareness campaign must be launched to inform people about the harmful effects of drug abuse and encourage people to seek counselling. The law enforcement agencies should work together to trace drug traffickers and networks and alleviate them effectively.
Qazi Jamshed Alam
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2022.
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