By Benjamin Lyngdoh
So what are we going to do now? Are we supposed to trade-off between drugs and alcohol? Shall we discourse upon which is a holier evil of the two and hence, live with it? (Read ST October 8, 2018; Check on liquor leads to rise in drug abuse). Although the news report concerned Nongstoin town alone but the context applies to the entire state. It goes without saying that alcohol has been a perennial social problem in Meghalaya and now we seriously have the ugly head of drugs staring us in the face. The problem is even dire when the major affected group is the youth. Interestingly, these days the discourse on alcohol has died down; naturally since now we have drugs to deal with. However, does this mean that we have accepted alcohol as a way of life? To this there is a case in point; the lifting of the ban on the sale of alcohol through the wine stores did not result in any serious condemnation/challenge from any prominent quarter. Be that as it may, alcohol continues to sell as a major problem for the youth now, added with a deadly cocktail of drugs. Accordingly, I place the following pointers –
Firstly and philosophically speaking, we all live on drugs. Even a newly born baby is fed the very first dosages of drugs through the hands of its own mother. Of course, in the name of civility and the fight against infant mortality rate we commonly call them as medicine(s). Point being, our bodies are inherently programmed to take drugs. Indeed if properly taken, this external stimulation can cure ailments (cold, fever, etc). However, what it also does is that it psychologically makes us consciously/unconsciously aware that such stimulations can give us additional feelings too (such as taking too much of any cough syrup in one go will give a fascinatingly-dizzy-sleepy feeling). This ‘feeling’ is increasingly looked upon by the youth to enable them to dodge/deal with their problems. The same goes with alcohol. Where is its starting point? In general, studies have shown that moderate quantum of alcohol is beneficial for health but here lies the problem again – that this stimulant psychologically drives the body towards craving for more so as to elicit a so called wonderfully-satisfied feeling. It is this ‘wonderfully-satisfied feeling’ that the youth like to drown into in dealing with myriad issues.
Secondly, is alcohol a holier evil? Well to be candid and brazen; it is but that does not mean encouraging it. In fact, it is a catch 22 situation. In many cases we will hear phrases such as ‘alcohol is a great social leveler’, ‘alcohol destroys all forms of social class structure’, etc. Moreover, during the time when alcohol sale was banned in Meghalaya; people were helplessly indulging themselves (through the secret/black market) into ‘locally made alcohol’. To many, these local brands (if at all they could be called as ‘brand’) are extremely harmful to health purely on account of their make and ingredients involved. There have been numerous accounts on how and what such alcohol makers do so as to ‘spike an aggressively coarse taste’ in the drink. That way when the ban was lifted, in many quarters it was taken as a welcome step (not to mention the return of tax revenues to the state government). Critically, overall in society this is a conundrum. To the social fabric of our state, the argument of ‘catch 22 situation’ does not work. Importantly, where do we draw the line? How do we keep the youth away from alcohol? Is awareness enough or do we now need in practice a ‘strict moral policing’ (across stakeholders)?
Thirdly, that we have made some sort of a compromise with alcohol is evident from the statement “ban ia kaba kin dih drugs, dang lah ba ki dih kyiad” (at least they are addicted to alcohol and not drugs). If anything, statements like these only depict the gravity of the problem that we are dealing with. There was a point in time when we used to talk about alcohol as a root cause of all evil and there used to be debate competitions based on the subject-matter. However, those days are now passé. Today, we have a new demon to wrestle against; and indeed it is far worse than anything we have crossed upon. The recent news reports in print/electronic media concerning drugs related arrests (both sellers and buyers) are only the tip of the ice-berg. The undercurrents of drug abuse in our state run far deeper and wider than we can fathom. Somehow it seems as if it is pretty easy to find drugs in the market (if one really wants to). Disturbingly, drug addiction is starting to be considered as a way of life; a status symbol if you like. Doing drugs to some youth is actually a depiction of being macho/manly; to some a way to enjoy; and to some an escape from the various challenges of life. This will only lead to an increased number of drugs related tragedies in future (starting from petty stealing/cheating culminating on murder). Thus, it is time we act and nip the problem in the bud; else the number of rehabilitation centres we have now will be overwhelmed in due course of time.
Fourthly, although drugs are a clear and present danger in Meghalaya let us try and address a bigger question. Are the drug suppliers trying to create a market or are they servicing an already existent market? Indeed, it is difficult to give a clear cut answer to this question. However, going by reports of the last five years across all forms of media the number of drug peddlers and buyers/users in Meghalaya are on the rise. Hence, if there was not an ‘already existing market’ we are definitely beyond any iota of a doubt seeing the ‘creation of such a market’. Drug abuse is in a period of ‘market development’ and if this is not stopped it will further lead to ‘market penetration’. If that happens, it shall be curtains for the state; it will be a case of ‘irrevocable damage’; one that shall be near to impossible to reverse. To this, factor add the developing social fabric of our state. Our families are getting smaller with more independent children. Add to that the loosening social value systems (tip kur tip kha) over time in terms of keeping up with family members, relatives, friends and neighbours. The end result is that the youth are mostly on their isolated own. They may be surrounded with people, but they are not with people. Couple this with the challenges of life; the result is a disturbing inclination/motivation towards drug abuse.
Lastly, it is true that it is a persons’ right to drink and get drunk too (if he/she wishes to), at least we have not come to ‘the right to do drug abuse’. By all means let us not let it get to that level. To this end, the social fabric of the state will have to rise up responsibly to counter it this growing menace. Moreover, the governance of the state shall have to live up to its duties of creating an ‘enabling and nurturing environment’ for the youth to learn, try, grow and prosper.
(The Author teaches at NEHU)