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https://doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2021.38470

October 2021

A Brief Analysis About the Drug Addiction by Youths in India Dr. Nagaraju. K. S Associate Professor, Dept Of Criminology And Forensic Science, Government First Grade College & P.G. Center, Krishnarajanagara Mysore-571602 Abstract: People have been taking the drug in various forms for many years for enjoyment, relaxation, sleeping, stimulation, or another reason. In the starting, people takes the drug for taste and alter the consciousness, behavior, mood, and thoughts but he/she becomes habitual and dependent on any substance use disorder such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, amphetamines, or illegal drugs. As per my thoughts and watching surroundings, if you ask a drug intake person “how do you become a drug addictive”? Most people will answer this “they started taking the drug in their friend circle, at relatives home or with relationship partner”. The first time they take it for taste or due to forcing by someone but after some time this becomes a habit. Peer pressure can fall you in this black world. Also, if someone has family history of addiction then he/she may chance to catch this addiction and make habitual others as well. So good friend circle really matters. Drugs such as heroin and marijuana are structured in the same way as chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are produced naturally by the human brain. As a result of this similarity, the drugs can fool the receptors of human brain and activate the nerve cells in such a way that they send some abnormal messages. In case of drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine, the nerve cells get activated and they release extraordinarily large volumes of neurotransmitters. They are also capable of preventing the brain from recycling these chemicals in a normal manner. A normal level of production is necessary in order to end the signal between neurons. Keywords: Alcohol – Beer, Wine, & Liquor, Opioids – Heroin, Fentanyl & Oxycodone, Cannabinoids – Marijuana & Hashish, Benzodiazepines – Ativan, Valium & Xanax, Stimulants – Adderall, Cocaine & Meth. I. INTRODUCTION Addiction is an inability to stop using a substance or engaging in a behavior even though it is causing psychological and physical harm. The term addiction Trusted Source does not only refer to dependence on substances such as heroin or cocaine. Some addictions also involve an inability to stop partaking in activities such as gambling, eating, or working. The American Society of Addiction Medicine -defines addiction as “a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.” Many people, but not all, start using a drug or first engage in an activity voluntarily. However, addiction can take over and reduce self-control. II. ADDICTION VS MISUSE Drug addiction and drug misuse are different. Misuse Trusted Source refers to the misuse of a substance at high doses or in inappropriate situations that could lead to health and social problems. However, not everybody who misuses a substance has addiction. Addiction Trusted Source is “fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.” For example, a person who drinks alcohol heavily on a night out may experience both the euphoric and harmful effects of the substance. However, this does not qualify as addiction until the person experiences “chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking, continued use despite harmful consequence, and long-lasting changes in the brain.” There is substance addiction and non-substance addiction. Some examples of non-substance addiction include: People have been taking the drug in various forms for many years for enjoyment, relaxation, sleeping, stimulation, or another reason.

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International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.429 Volume 9 Issue X Oct 2021- Available at www.ijraset.com In the starting, people takes the drug for taste and alter the consciousness, behavior, mood, and thoughts but he/she becomes habitual and dependent on any substance use disorder such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, amphetamines, or illegal drugs. The excessive use of psychoactive drugs can harmful to physical and mental health. Even drug abuse and addiction become the cause of death. There are several reasons why drug usage soon gets changed to drug abuse. At a very basic level this happens because the person concerned feels a desperate need to deal with stress, to get a momentary high or to just ‘fit in’ with his or her peers, as happens in the case of youngsters. It soon reaches a stage where this need becomes much more than other needs in life and the person begins to believe their survival depends on those drugs. One of the major reasons for drug abuse and this is especially applicable for youngsters doing drugs is its presence, and at times glorification, in popular media such as television series and films. Quite often it so happens that doing drugs is romanticized and some fictional positive aspects of the same are shown. Thus it becomes a thrilling and seductive affair for youngsters who can be misguided easily because of their relative lack of experience in life. At times, the knowledge of risk factors related to drug abuse can also lure people into using these harmful substances. In certain instances people gain this knowledge from their own families or immediate surroundings and are obviously driven – due to some reason or the other – to give it a try and before they know it, it becomes an addiction. III. MAIN TYPES OF DRUGS However, there are many types of drugs but the following are a few that are taken by a person. 1) Alcohol: Beer, Wine, & Liquor 2) Opioids: Heroin, Fentanyl & Oxycodone 3) Cannabinoids: Marijuana & Hashish 4) Benzodiazepines: Ativan, Valium & Xanax 5) Stimulants: Adderall, Cocaine & Meth 6) Opioids: Heroin, Opium, Poppy husk, LSD, Fentanyl & Oxycodone 7) Ecstasy and Hallucinogens 8) Tobacco IV. CAUSES OF DRUG ABUSE AND ADDICTION A. Friend, Family or Social Circle As per my thoughts and watching surroundings, if you ask a drug intake person “how do you become a drug addictive”? Most people will answer this “they started taking the drug in their friend circle, at relatives home or with relationship partner”. The first time they take it for taste or due to forcing by someone but after some time this becomes a habit. Peer pressure can fall you in this black world. Also, if someone has family history of addiction then he/she may chance to catch this addiction and make habitual others as well. So good friend circle really matters. B. Influence Sometimes a person gets inspired by others. If your role model, family member, friend, favorite singer, actor, or any other person who inspires you that also do drink, smoking, or takes any other drug, their follower or a close person may also have a chance to do the same. Especially young generation gets more influence. Younger people think this habit will boost their reputation and domination in society if they will also do the same. C. Stress Stress is a strong feeling of emotional or physical tension. It drives from any task, event, or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, headaches, or nervous. If stressful feeling goes away in a few minutes or hours then no problem. Otherwise, stress becomes painful and a burden in the mind. A stressed person starts living alone in irritation and waves of anger. The person also starts taking the drug to overcome the stress which may be caused by the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job, financial problem, business loss, chronic illness, or injury, and more reasons.

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International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.429 Volume 9 Issue X Oct 2021- Available at www.ijraset.com D. Replacement When a drug intake person quit one drug then he/she start taking another drug as an alternative and after some time become addicted to this new drug. When one dope is not available the abuser finds the alternative. It is another major cause of shifting one intoxication to another. E. Remove Tiredness Substance abuse affects your body temperature, mood, energy level, and heart rate, breathing, and gag reflex. Some people take it to remove the tiredness and make you alert, energetic, and talk-active. You may not feel tired after taking the above drugs for a short time. But when it’s effective over, then you will have to take another dose. These acts also make people drug dependent. F. Effects of Drug Abuse and Addiction There are different effects on our health and social life, which are described below: G. Physical and Mental Health Lose Any type of drug is harmful to mental and physical health. Some drugs will affect your brain and other physical health. Excessive use of any drug like alcohol can lead to the development of chronic diseases such as liver disease, high blood pressure, stroke, colon cancer, and digestive problems. Marijuana can lead to schizophrenia, asthma, and cancer of the throat, liver, lung, and mouth. Cocaine may lead to hepatitis or AIDS when sharing needles, respiratory failure, and brain seizures. Ecstasy is also dangerous and responsible for memory loss, depression, brain damage, damage to nerve endings, kidney failure, and psychosis. Methamphetamine is also harmful and leads to insomnia, irritability and confusion, anxiety and paranoia, respiratory issues, extremely decreased appetite, and more. So overall all drugs have a lot of side effects and damage to health. Every year thousands of people die due to drug overdose, addiction, and intoxication. But people do not learn from them. Even many wine and cigarette makers write this line on their bottle labels “consumption of alcohol and smoking is injurious to health”. But people still consume them without any fair. H. Family Suffer A druggy person does not only hurt himself/herself but their family also suffers from it. A drug abuser has no control over their words and body. They do abuse, argument, even beat their wife, children, or other members. Families do not want that their family members take any kind of drug and do quarreling. Such a person affects the family’s mental health and social life. I. Work Lose How someone can work in an intoxication condition? It is very difficult. I have seen many persons who were alcoholic or drug addictive and they never do any work. These kinds of people do not only do any work but also destroy or sell what property and assets they have. Drug abuse is the complete work and economical loss thing. J. Social Negligence As we see in our society or family, we don’t give much importance to such a person. They have a low reputation, respect, and value. We don’t think it necessary to involve them in important decision-making activities. That means completely family and social negligence for an intoxicated person. The most major impact of drug abuse is on the brain, which consequentially affects every other aspect of life of the person addicted to drugs. Drugs are primarily chemicals that affect the communication system of the human brain. They disturb the ways in which nerve cells send, process and receive information. There are a couple of ways in which drugs achieve this – they copy the natural chemical messengers of the human brain and they over stimulate the brain’s reward circuit. Drugs such as heroin and marijuana are structured in the same way as chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters.

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International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.429 Volume 9 Issue X Oct 2021- Available at www.ijraset.com These neurotransmitters are produced naturally by the human brain. As a result of this similarity, the drugs can fool the receptors of human brain and activate the nerve cells in such a way that they send some abnormal messages. In case of drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine, the nerve cells get activated and they release extraordinarily large volumes of neurotransmitters. They are also capable of preventing the brain from recycling these chemicals in a normal manner. A normal level of production is necessary in order to end the signal between neurons. This disruption leads to a message that is highly amplified and this in turn disrupts the normal ways in which the brain communicates. Almost all the drug’s use dopamine in order to target the reward system of the brain. Dopamine can be defined as a neurotransmitter that can be found in the areas of brain that control phenomena such as movement, motivation, emotion and various feelings such as pleasure. A most famous example of eating disorder owing to drug abuse is that of Diego Maradona, who had gained weight before the 1994 World Cup because of his drug abuse. He was weighing in the region of 94 kilos but soon reduced it to 77 kilos through hard work and determination and played an important role in the team’s qualification for the tournament proper. Drug abuse manifests itself in euphoric behaviour by the user and at most times unnaturally so. This leads to a sequence where the users keep on repeating the same action of drug abuse. When this pattern continues the brain tries to adapt to the usage by reducing its own dopamine production as well as dopamine receptors. The user tries to adapt to this through drug abuse so that his or her dopamine production level can be brought back to a level that seems normal to him or her. V. WAYS TO PREVENT DRUG ABUSE AND ADDICTION It is a very tough task to prevent alcohol and drug abuse and addiction. Here are some suggestions to prevent and avoid it. A. Own Will Power I have met many people whom I and other people have consulted and admitted in the rehab center to quit alcohol, smoking, opium, or any such substance but no one quit from it until they pass away. I have also seen some people who have quit drug addiction with their own willpower and do not taste it again. So own willpower matters in overcoming drug addiction. B. Connect with God God does the things that humans could not do. Yes, connect with God through your religion, become a true devote, utter Lord’s name, pray daily, selfless service for humanity and just believe in God. Your drug addiction habit will go away very soon. C. Take Medical Help If you really want to quit drug addiction, you can take help from a rehab center and drug de-addiction treatment center. They keep away from patients from substance abuse and take care of them. They give alternative medicine to quit it slowly-slowly so you don’t get any side-effect from sudden drug elimination. D. Government Action on Drugs Our governments can play an important role in drug prevention but they don’t give much attention to it. Also, alcohol is a legal drug in almost every country and also a big income or tax source. However govt. agencies are working strictly to stop the production and drug smuggling of other substances, but still, many drug smugglers are delivering it from cities to villages. The government needs to review its drug law, take more strict action against drug distributors and reach the roots of drug suppliers and makers. E. Keep Yourself Busy When a person is free, he/she gets habitual of many good and bad habits. Because your mind is free and you don’t have anything to do. So try to keep yourself busy at work, does exercise, yoga, read books, join a charity or you can do anything else that will keep you busy.

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International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.429 Volume 9 Issue X Oct 2021- Available at www.ijraset.com F. Solution to Drug Abuse Prevention is one of the ways in which drug abuse can be dealt with. In fact it is one affliction that can be easily prevented according to medical experts and practitioners. Prevention programmes involving entities such as families, schools and the immediate communities are important in this regard. Media especially the entertainment segment also needs to understand its role in this context and play a positive role by resisting the urge to earn millions by romanticizing and glorifying drug abuse. It needs to highlight the damning consequences of drug abuse. It is important that the youth are made to feel that drug usage itself is harmful in every conceivable way and only then will they stop using them and prevent others in their peer group from doing the same. Sustained treatment is the only option for people who have already gone down the road of drug abuse and are highly into it. The treatment for a drug abuser normally depends on the kind of drug that the person has been using. It is said that the best treatments normally emphasize on phenomena related to the individual’s life. This includes areas such as medical, psychological and work-related needs as well as issues in relationships with other people in the person’s life. The treatment sessions combine medication and behavioural therapy so that the victim of drug abuse gradually stops feeling the urge to do drugs. These treatment programmes also impart the skills and capability required in order to say no to drugs in the future, which is highly critical for a complete cure to drug abuse. Studies stating 90 % of the Delhi street children are addicted to drugs According to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, 46,410 cases of substance abuse by street children were reported in Delhi last year. The cases of consumption of drug substances during the year were-heroin (840), opium (420), pharmaceutical opioids (210), and sedatives (210). These figures were based on a recent study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The NGO ‘Save the Children’ stated that about 50,923 children live on the streets of Delhi in 2011. Out of these, 46,411 children were addicted to drugs. As per the records of the National Crime Records Bureau, 53 and 34 unnatural deaths of children below 18 years were recorded due to a drug overdose during 2015 and 2016 respectively. VI. INITIATIVES TO FIGHT AGAINST DRUG ABUSE A. The Haryana Government implemented a scheme titled ‘Central Sector Scheme of Assistance for Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drug) Abuse’ to curb the issue of drug abuse. B. Under this scheme, a financial assistance was given to the eligible NGOs, Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies by the government, which in turn will provide integrated services for the rehabilitation of addicts. An advisory was issued by the government to all states and UTs asking them to take measures for the prevention of substance abuse among children. C. Charitar Nirman Sewadar Trust, an NGO engaged in de-addiction and social reformation stated that about 80 percent of the prisoners in Tihar are addicted to either tobacco, ganja, smack or alcohol. It suggested that there is a need for more counselors in the jail to tackle depression among the prisoners who consorted to drugs because of it. D. CHETNA is an NGO which runs an unofficial recreation center for children inside the Nizamuddin Police Station. They mainly focus on developing friendly relations between the police and street children who are more susceptible to drugs and crime. E. The Delhi AIDS Control Society (DACS) suggested a plan in which more than 400 medical officers working in 260 Delhi government dispensaries and 150 specialists working in 32 Delhi government hospitals will be trained on a long-term basis at the Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IHBAS) as there was a scarcity of psychiatrists and trained manpower to tackle patients of drug abuse. They also advised keeping a strict check on the sale and purchase of addictive medicines available in pharmacies. The licenses of 20 shops had been canceled in 2016 who sold such harmful drugs. The Delhi Zonal Unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau suggested to utilize stakeholders like the Police, Excise, Customs, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in the fight against grug abuse who have the equal power as per the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The body also stressed on the need to implement Section 64 of the NDPS Act, which states: ‘Immunity from prosecution to addicts volunteering for treatment, provided that the said immunity from prosecution may be withdrawn if the addict does not undergo the complete treatment for de-addiction’. VII. CONCLUSION Drug addiction makes life hell and black. Drug addicts ruin his own and family life. A person does not know when a habit becomes an addiction. After it, all day and night spent in consuming alcohol and drug. Drug abuse recovery also never easy. You have to face its physical and social symptoms your whole life. So it is better to avoid its consumption in the initial stage. Don’t take it for taste or short-term enjoyment. Nature gives us a lot of other things to eat and drink that are far taste and healthy. Let’s create a better world where no one falls into drug addiction. Don’t Take It and Don’t Give It.

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