Nepali Youth, Drugs, and its Etiological Factors
With an unprecedented culture of intolerance, individualism and materialism the drug addiction has come as a global threat next to terrorism everywhere, no Nepal remains the exception. Pertaining to an easy availability of drugs everywhere it can be also said that drugs has established trans-boundary imperialism. No clear demarcation can be drawn to show an unnecessary use of drugs, drug addiction and drug smuggling. Taking drugs has been the ritual routine for most of the urban teenagers and youth. In Nepal, teenage boys perceive drug taking as an inevitable part of being modern, and fashionable. Thus, taking drugs has been terribly increasing.
The existent problems of drugs and other related evils in Nepal are adding a new avenue in the field of social problems. It is unfortunate for all Nepalis; a noticeable numbers of youth and teenagers depend upon the drugs. A rough estimation says more than one lakh people are found to be involved in drug addiction. They are found to be assembling together in lonely areas, especially at temple surroundings to be intoxicated and hallucinated. This culture of drugs dependence harms not only the individuals who take it, but the entire society and the nation get disturbances and blockages in its prosperous path of development. Similarly, it may be thought to be unfortunate and absurd in the sense that to whom the whole country has to handover its responsibility for the nation building, thinking who are the strong pillars of development, social reformation, and carrier of peace and prosperity are themselves (youth) found to be worsening day by day. Even the 6 years old estimation by the United Nations 2004 reflects the rapid picture of drug takers stating ‘More than 200 million people abuse drugs worldwide.’ This estimation might be widening doubtlessly to speculate the population with drugs abuse throughout the world.
The question of use and or misuse of drugs in an appropriate and or inappropriate way determines whether an individual has been used or abused drugs. Professor Leonard Goldberg keeps forward his views about drug abuse in an article entitled, Drug Abuse in Sweden as: ‘Drug abuse means essentially the use of drugs for the non-medical purposes or in doses usually excessive amounts not founded on ethical medical grounds.’ If the drugs are used for non-medical purposes, and in excessive doses , it is said to be drugs abuse. Drug abusers are not found to be following the ethical medical grounds even they are mushroomingly buying and selling drugs without physicians’ prescriptions. Drugs are chemical, psycho-active stimulant or tranquilizing substances that alter the function of an organism and give hallucinatory effects are used for the prevention, treatment, and alleviation of disease. In this sense, drugs are special chemical compounds to diagnose, prevent, or treat certain kinds of diseases. The drugs is termed to be medicine with the doctor’s prescription, otherwise it remains to be drugs.
Drug abuse is also called drug addiction or substance abuse which is a state of periodic or chronic intoxication produced by the repeated consumption of a drug with a tendency to increase the dose is essential to explain which is said to be drug habituation. In a generic term, taking of drugs being an integral part of habit is drug habituation. Afterwards, an individual reaches to a next new stage called drug addiction. It is a condition resulting from the repeated consumption of a drug where an individual reaches to the extreme of drug taking habit. It may be called drug abuse where an individual makes bad use of drugs that harms his/her health massively. An individual reaching up to this state can not stand on his/her own; they must have to depend upon drugs. Addiction is often defined as a habitual repetition of excessive behavior that a person is unable or unwilling to stop, despite its harmful consequences upon him/her.
G.S. Chopara and Paranjeet Singh Chopora in a paper, Studies on 300 Indian Drug Addicts with Special Reference to Psychological Aspects, Etiology and Treatment say the following as strong factors behind drug taking:
i. Association, contagion, curiosity, euphoria, personality problems
ii. To alleviate symptoms of disease
iii. To overcome fatigue and stress
Smoking is a major door through which an individual enters into other terribly Hellic life experiences. Of course, smoking is hazardous to human health. Though deliberately knowing this maxim, still there is a big population in Nepal and throughout the world who enjoy smoking. Smoking in the Nepalese context seems to transfer as a fashion tip. Basically, school goers and plus 2 goers are found to be with this habit of smoking. It is the vivid reality that the youthful addicts often begin by smoking. They may be attracted by alluring advertisements. The false advertisements such as: ‘smoking makes you a king’ may create illusion. Alluring with such illusion, in a long run, they take smoking as a habit of. Those smokers start to use gradually hemp, and other forms of drugs and they remain in the terrible trap of drug addiction.
The doors and windows, an individual slides on into the drug habituation and drug addiction are of distinct nature and attributes. The pulling and pushing factors that drag somebody to the dungeon ditch of drugs are explained below briefly:
Pulling Factors
There are pluralistic pulling factors that cause an individual to drug taking habits and ultimately s/he becomes a drug addict. The description is as given below:
a. To quieten the curiosity:
Generally those who are in teen age or adolescence stage, they want to quieten their curiosity about the drugs, and they begin taking drugs. After a long run, they become habituated with drugs taking and can not come back from it though they want it. An individual, thus is dragged to the deep ditch of drugs.
b. A false wish to be a hero: Some teenage boys and youth are haunted by an ego becoming a hero, so this tendency also works behind drug taking and drug addiction. The question of falsity to become a hero goes into a vain. The ghost of heroism that they cling into, does nothing in reality. They realize when it is delayed. What can they do? They have no alternative except taking drugs as they can not give up the drugs.
c. Experience everything and be a human: There is a school of thought; which is foremost among the teenagers and youth: an individual should have an experience of everything how it looks like, how it tastes like and so on. With this tune teenagers and youth can be touched a great deal and gradually, they can start taking drugs as a part of gaining experience of every type. They forget the innate nature of drugs, i.e. once you take it you never forget to take it twice and thrice. Ultimately it turns into a habit. So, it is difficult to give it up.
d. High degree of expectation: Teenagers and youth who have involved in drug addiction are found to be with high expectation. Their family can not fulfill their superficial expectation as a result they start to take the help of drugs.
e. Bad company: It is said that an individual’s behaviour is shaped as per the friends they are with. Teenagers trust on their peer groups rather than their parents. Good company creates the good atmosphere to be good, whereas bad company worsens the life. Those with bad habits such as taking drugs, involving in theft, robbery, killings, murdering and other criminal activities teach, and or pressurize other simple friends to be the same. So, they assimilate into this sort of group.
f. As a part of mimic: Learning happens stronger by seeing. What teenagers and youth see and then they do. Some youth are attracted by the advertisements. As an integral part of their life activities, they imitate what they see in and around them and easily they make the habit of drug taking and after a long time, they turn into drug addicts.
Pushing Factors
As similar as pulling factors, there are certain factors which are thought to be the causative factors of drug addiction. These components push an individual to drug addictions; that are explained below briefly:
a. No good achievement: Teenagers and youth are highly ambitious. It is not negative to be highly ambitious, they do not work in order to meet their expectations.Therefore, they become frustrated with their life. They have a strong sense of guilt and get depressed as they can not gain as they were expecting before. Not having the satisfactory attainment, they start to take drugs, thus it is one of the major pushing factors for teenagers and youth to drug addiction.
b. Stress and strain: Teenagers and youth do not take the surrounding with an ease. As a result, there may arise a lot of problems. Neither they can escape from the problems nor can they be capable enough to face them. It adds an unnecessary burden to them. To get relief from such stress and strain they are pushed to drugs addiction. Even wars, conflicts of various nature are causes of drug addiction that drive people to drug taking habit.
c. Mental tension: Prominent thinker, Rene Descartes once said human being is a thinking being. It is natural for humans to have mental pressure, tension and problems. Mental tension is an on-going process within the human mind. To get relief from mental tension, teenagers and youth take drugs which is not a long time solution.
d. Break down in love affairs: Teenagers and youth give much more priority to love affairs. They do not take it seriously. If they have some difficulty such as the absence mutual understanding and, respect with their loved ones, their webs of love go on crisis. Thus the male victims of such love affairs begin to take drugs.
e. Bad family environment: It is the family environment where a child learns to be a dignified person and or to be a drug addict. Bad family environment here refers to the absence of peace and only the presence of violence and, disturbances. Good environment gives the basis to good life foundation. Whereas, bad family environment drags an individual back to the Hell. The lack of proper love and affection by parents to a teenager leads to a voyage to be a drug addict with a deviated behaviour show up.
It is my humble appeal to everyone who has become an inevitable part of drug addiction, if you can do. Dare to come out of the dreadful ditch of addiction and beautify the life, beauty the locality and the nation. The entire beauty of the universe depends solely upon you, an individual. Therefore, do not desertify the life rather try to make it more productive, constructive and fertile making an oasis. Let us orient ourselves how much we can for the rethinking and reformation of the nation which is an urgent howl of the time.
References
Basic Facts about the United Nations (2004): United Nations Department of Public
Information
Bulletin on Narcotics. Vol. XVII, No. 2, April-June 1965, UN
_________________. Vol. XVII, No. 3, July-Sept.1965, UN
_________________.Vol. XX, No. 1, Jan-March 1968, UN
_________________.Vol. XVIII, No. 1, Jan-March 1998, UN
Marshall G. (edis.)1998. A Dictionary of Sociology. Oxford, New York: OUP.
Published on:
Nepal, a bimonthly Magazine published by GON,
Information and Communication Ministry Department,
Kathmandu Year: 41, No. 5, Purnak 185, Chaitra 067 – Baishakh 068
(It is a slightly improved version)
