UP IN SMOKE

MENTAL HEALTH & DRUG ABUSE

About

According to the American Psychiatric Association, addiction is a brain disease that is manifested by “compulsive substance use, despite harmful consequence.” the very biology of the human brain starts to change when a person is addicted to a substance. Intense craving, obsessive behavior and constant need to be under the influence.

We converse with two students as they describe their compulsive use of a substance and dependency on drugs to tackle mental health issues.

Grace, a 21-year-old student described her struggle with mental health. She talks about drugs becoming a solace from her severe anxiety issues. She recounts learning from a peer that drugs like marijuana can work as an escape from anxiety, and they help calm the nerves. Drugs were just an outlet, to begin with, but now she can't imagine getting through a day without them.

23-year-old Rory practically spends his entire day under the influence of drugs. He has been smoking marijuana for so long he can't remember a time without it. “It fixes everything, Mental health, and physical health. Try it for yourself.” Drugs become an escape from the taxing reality for these young adults.

TRAPPED INSIDE ONESELF

Community

ADDICTS

DEALING WITH LIVES

A UN report published in 2019 claims that drug use in India has increased by 30% in the last decade. This increase in consumption has opened up a market for the illegal drug trade. There are various reasons why young adults indulge in this trade, easy money being the most prominent one. Despite knowing the repercussions of indulging in such an exchange, students are willing to risk everything to get their hands on a few grams of drugs.

Here’s an account of how a regular transaction occurs between the student and the dealer.

Spaces

DEALERS

Membership

The Pain

"I can’t deal with the things that happen in my life most of the time. I need something to take the pain away, I need to feel numb sometimes."

The Base

“You look for it, you will find it. Every corner of the street, every shadow has its own deal.” The students have their own secrets hidden away.

The Rescue

“One joint, one drag, one pill, makes you the one. Whatever you’re going through, you’re in control.”

The Feeling

“It’s the start. It makes things better. I can move on from yesterday.” The calm that comes with the usage of Narcotic substances is invaluable to addicts.

Contact

Our objective is to keep the education city free from such people and we try our best to keep them away from here...

ASI KULDEEP SINGH - HARYANA POLICE

EYES OF THE LAW

How much of the drug abuse is really visible to the dutiful eyes of the law?

Young adults consume drugs every day, some are even heavily addicted and dependent on these drugs. The police, however, notice a decline in the number of drug overdose or drug dealing cases. ASI Kuldeep Singh of Haryana police recounts a case he investigated in his district.

He describes a man who gained access to the student population by selling eggs in the area. The police eventually discovered that the man was also selling drugs like marijuana to the students, and took strict action to stop this.

The conversation with Haryana police also highlighted the discrepancy between economic classes and their usage of drugs. People with addiction find what they can afford to curb their compulsive needs. Haryanvi songs and popular culture, according to him also promote drugs and the consumption of “hookah”. It is because of media like this, that the youth is most vulnerable and easily influenced.

“There isn’t just one reason for exploiting drugs, some people are addicted, some people have a business and there can be several other personal reasons” officer Kuldeep Singh lists the numerous reasons he has heard about people using and holding drugs and how he believes none of them justify the negative consequences. He ends the interview on a positive and hopeful note, saying that students should focus on their academics and be successful.

EXPERT OPINION

After listening to what the consumers, dealers, and the law had to say on the issue, we spoke with an expert on what she thought was the reason behind the correlation between substance abuse and mental health issues.

Madhavi Maganti, a psychology professor at Ashoka University believes that this is a "confused" generation. She is a developmental psychologist and is convinced that the issue of drug abuse is more prevalent in generation Z compared to others. According to her, her generation had a stronger value system and was more adept at dealing with failure. They did not have this excess of information that is available to the generation today and hence decision making was unidimensional, unlike today where thousands of opinions float around and create confusion for young adults. This confusion creates stress and thus young people look towards substances to cope with the immense amount of pressure they are dealing with.