By Marbabiang Syiemlieh & Ibasaralyne Thabah Synthiang
At dusk, as we were returning from work, a few youth were standing on the roadside and smoking weed (marijuana). We could sense that they were enjoying themselves. We only glanced at them and went along. However, this incident kept us thinking and raised a lot of questions where we discussed what we saw, the very next day at work. Were they regularly smoking weed? Are they also doing other drugs? What are their life situations? Can we do something about it?
Drug abuse is becoming a grave problem both in urban and rural Meghalaya. According to the National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use (2019), the number of people who inject drugs in Meghalaya are 11,420 with many unreported cases. The problem is intensified with drug use being linked to sex work and high risk activities such as injecting drug use and sharing of such equipment that can result in public health epidemics such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C, sexually transmitted diseases and other blood borne viruses (The Meghalaya Drug Abuse Prevention Policy, 2020). In a study conducted by NACO (2014-15), it was reported that the mean age of intravenous drug users (IDUs) was 26 years of which a majority (59%) of them were in the age group of 25 -34 years with a literacy rate of 87.7%. In terms of occupation, 20.6% are unemployed and 15% are students.
We have to recognize that adolescents and young adults are vulnerable to drug use. Meghalaya has drafted the Meghalaya Youth Policy 2021, a great milestone, as the growth and development of youth has often been side-lined. The rationale for having the Youth Policy is to recognise the potential and contribution of youth to the development of the state. Having said this, youth transit major changes as they grow from childhood to autonomy and to responsible adults. Many are at risk of ill-fated social issues of the society, one among these is vulnerability to illicit drug abuse.
We wanted to delve deeper into this reality of drug use and abuse. Hence, we are thankful to few organizations in Shillong working with drug users who helped arrange a few interactions with them and their peer educators. These interactions gave us broad insights into the lives of these young people who are drug-dependent. We found that initiation into drugs was as early as 12 or 13 years of age and the high-risk groups are around 14 to16 years of age, discounting tobacco use (smoke and smokeless) as nicotine was not even considered as a drug by these children and youth who are into substance use.
Why do these adolescents get into drugs? The contributing factors of substance use among adolescents and youth are firstly, a ‘broken family’. The family as a basic unit is supposed to be a safe haven for children and youth. All these drug users who we interacted with reported that, they come from broken families, where there is no close child to parent relationship since their parents are always preoccupied. Hence they never felt love, attachment and bonding even though they may be living under the same roof. Although their basic needs are met the youth said that motivation and attachment were absent and that pushes these youth to substitute that craving for love with substances instead. Many of these youth mentioned that their parents are also substance dependent and they regularly witness fights, arguments and violence between their parents. The perception of these youth is also distorted. Many times, they think that it is alright to try alcohol and drugs at an early age, as they see their role models at home abusing substances. As parents, we often forget that children model our behaviour.
Secondly, the easy accessibility to substances is another contributing factor. The youth said there was no obstacle or hindrance in acquiring drugs whenever they needed them. Drugs are easily available in the city; drug peddlers are everywhere. While the general presumption is that substances are expensive, the fact is that these adolescents and youth despite their low socio-economic positions still manage to acquire them. Further, adolescents and youth who are substance dependent resort to anti-social activities such as stealing and shoplifting in order to finance their drug needs. Such delinquencies are not considered wrongdoings in their minds as long as they are able to obtain the substances.
Thirdly, peer influence to casually try and initiate drug use is another factor contributing to the rise of substance users among adolescents and youth. The youth mentioned that they actually felt quite good if they could persuade another peer into substance initiation. It takes only two to three days for the body to start craving for the drug and within a week of daily use, one becomes dependent.
Fourthly, the media has had negative effects on adolescents. Long hours of exposure to unhealthy content through online games, music, movies result in violent and aggressive behaviour as well as ingraining lax and nonchalant attitude to drug use, sexual relationships, suicidal thoughts and even attempts to hurt oneself.
Despite these contributing factors to substance use, many families are still in denial of their child’s dependency on the substance(s) due to stigmatization and societal discrimination. Unfortunately, in a few communities, ostracization of individuals and families who use illicit substances results in disciplinary action taken up by the youth group or the Dorbar Shnong. There is also complete ignorance that substance use is an illness. This makes substance use dependents become victims of superfluous physical violence thinking that this is the right way to turn them into law-abiding citizens and stop them from using substances. Moreover, it is distressing to learn that few communities are in denial about the number of youth who are substance users within their respective communities.
The universal fact is that in nearly all communities across the globe there exists class discrimination and the society in Meghalaya is no different. Irrespective of issues, people from low socio-economic backgrounds have been treated callously by society. Similarly, the youth from such backgrounds who are substance users are being vilified and stigmatised, and more often than not, left without any support.
These daunting findings are harsh realities of many youth in Shillong. As a society are we prepared to take positive action before our youth reach the depths of despair? These substance users are crying out for help and don’t want someone else to be in their shoes. They actually crave for love and understanding and want their parents to understand the physiological and psychological changes they undergo during the stage of adolescence. Many of them said, “My mother/father does not understand me”. This is a common phrase uttered by almost every adolescent.
Perhaps education for parents on parenting skills and the significance of communication in the family are imperatives. The need of the hour is to start family conversations by providing a non-threatening space for children and youth to freely share their concerns and the pressure they experience. There is great need to promote sports and recreational activities so that youth can have some leisure after school or college hours rather than being held captive by their mobile phones and getting hooked to online games which has already affected their physical and mental health.
Some initiatives that can be taken up as per recommendations provided by substance dependent individuals are to develop social competence and critical consciousness among youth through training programmes so as to prevent early initiation into drugs. Additionally, regular home visits by key representatives in the community without being judgmental or biased and training for parents’ training is a must to prevent drug abuse among children and youth.
For parents and elders that are drug/alcohol dependent, they suggested subsidised treatment rates for rehabilitation and detoxification and even free treatment for those belonging to households living Below Poverty Line. Besides, vocational training and employment avenues for recovered addicts, spiritual awareness, training for community members about the illness and related interventions, healthy vigilance by community groups through provision of help, instead of punishment, and setting up more Drop-In Centres (DICs) in other districts, since most are concentrated in and around Shillong are essential interventions to curb and support our youth.
In the present scenario, we hope for government support to tackle this problem as Meghalaya has its own Drug Abuse Prevention Policy, 2020. Further, in January 2023, the Meghalaya Cabinet passed the Drug Reduction Elimination & Action Mission (DREAM) with a mission to build a Drug Free Meghalaya by leveraging the culture and communities through a multi-faceted coordinated strategy to eliminate the incidence of substance use in the state.
Let us unite with a common purpose and act in our own homes and communities. Let us start these conversations about how we could support families and youth. These are not far fetched. Discussions on this issue with parents is attainable, if and only if communities come together to intervene for the welfare of our youth. “Motivation can heal the person. Love can heal the person. Unfortunately, these are absent in many of our contemporary families”. The crux of the matter truly is to provide a safe, loving and healthy family environment.
The writers are faculty of the School of Social Work, Martin Luther Christian University)
