KARACHI: Approximately 0.5 to 0.6 million people are engaging in drug abuse every year in Pakistan. The total number of drug users in the country is now around eight million, out of which 1.5 million use opium, 750,000 are heroin addicts and 200,000 are drug-injecting users, while 75,000 addicts are also suffering from HIV/AIDS.
One out of every ten college/university students is a drug addict. In one prominent private university of Karachi, around 66 per cent of the students were recorded as using cannabis. Over 50,000 street children are involved in solvent substance abuse in four major cities of the country. An estimated 40 per cent of Pakistan’s prison population uses drugs. Drug production for Pakistan’s domestic market is estimated to be around $1.5 billion.
However, our law enforcement agencies have failed completely in putting an end to this curse, which is fast becoming an accepted part of our culture. There is an urgent need for the concerned authorities to look into this serious issue and come up with concrete steps to eradicate this curse.
Hamza Zaidi
Published in The Express Tribune, April 2nd, 2012.
