Meghalaya has about three lakh drug users which makes it about 10% of the population. Statistics matter but too often they become just numbers. Society still does not feel the need to discuss why the youth take to drugs or to play a more pro-active role in counselling the youth and helping them to get out of the grip of this vice. Some take to drugs to alleviate their anxieties caused by myriad reasons particularly while negotiating the turbulent adolescent years. Parental expectations without the support system that the child needs especially at home – namely understanding, empathetic, supportive parents who are willing to accept that their child cannot be a topper in class, are what push many young people to seek temporary refuge in drugs.
The absence of a safe space in the home where adolescents can speak their minds and know they will be understood and not judged is what pushes the young to drugs. And once they start it is a tough call to get them back on track. What follows is serious mental health problems. It cannot be denied that life is tough and the young understand it, but, our education system is so bereft of life skills where the young can learn to cope with difficult challenges. Most often parents are least equipped to deal with their children because they don’t come down to the level of the child and see the world from their points of view and through their lenses. Counsellors and educators in Meghalaya share their concerns about young people who struggle with depression, anxiety disorders, low self-esteem especially when they see others in the class easily imbibing the lessons taught while they struggle to understand the same. As a result, those who fall through the cracks tend to withdraw and isolate themselves from the peer group. From then on if that youth is not counselled he/she will be on a downhill mental slide. The young confess that they use drugs to cope with academic pressure, with identity (transgenders), broken love affairs and parental pressure. In a sense, parents of today need counselling on how to parent their children without driving them round the bend.
The problem with drug addiction is that it pushes the dependent to commit other crimes to support the addiction. Policing alone does not help. Some senior advocates have stated that drug carriers/peddlers should not be defended and should rot in prison since their aim is to destroy young lives. Otherwise, what happens is a ‘normalisation’ of the legal rigmarole. A drug seller is arrested, put in jail, gets bail and is back to the same trade. What is important is a societal response to the crises. As of today, drug users are scorned and stigmatised. And there are too few rehabilitation centres to accommodate the large number of users. What’s needed are recreational spaces in every dorbar shnong where those caught in this vicious trap can get the right kind of counselling and hand-holding as they trace back their steps to a life restored. Drug addiction does not afflict only the addict. It afflicts the entire society because everyone suffers in some form or the other. Families are afflicted by anxiety and fear and feel helpless even as family peace disappears and the siblings of the addict suffer emotional trauma. It’s time for society to come together and address this issue with the seriousness it deserves, else our youth potential is destroyed.
