While we have been witnessing drug addiction affecting, destroying the lives of our youngsters for quite a long time now, there is a new shift in the overall situation which is serious and grim. Though we have seen cases of 16-year-olds turning out to be brown sugar addicts, there is a new shift that is hard to identify and track.
Youngsters are now heard and seen using materials like Fevicol SR to satiate their addiction by its strangely strong smell. It is a serious concern that such materials are being misused in such a manner even as the same goes unnoticed.
The story does not end there because we have seen, heard youngsters consuming zandu balm, shoe polish including several other substances to satiate their urge, leading to utter misuse of the same.
The story is simple, and has great psychology behind it: when the substances that stand banned are difficult to get hold of, the addicts then turn to substances that somehow satisfy their addiction and make them feel satiated. That is when the situation turns pretty bad.
There is a need for the concerned authorities to act strict and swift to arrest such a trend. While such addicts can never be identified, the higher-ups need to identify such substances that are potent to be misused as drugs and ensure the sale of the same is regulated and is time and again scrutinized. There is a need for coming up with a thorough policy in this regard and it needs to be ensured that such substances are not made easily available.
In doing so, the administration needs to take on board the physiatrists as well as other policymakers so that effective measures are taken to plug the menace which is growing underneath and does not even seem to be existent.