Lead article published in oHeraldo on June 26, 2023
Soter D’Souza
The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking is observed on June 26 every year. The United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime has declared, ‘People first: stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention’, as the theme for 2023. The focus has rightly been turned towards understanding the drug abuser and focusing on prevention of drug abuse. This theme goes contrary to the Goa government’s skewed approach of sensationalising drug related cases and chasing drug traffickers whenever confronted with a drug crisis.
While it is necessary to cut the supply chain of drugs, it is equally important to reduce the demand for drugs through consistent prevention and de-addiction programs. Logically speaking, the high incidence of drug trafficking has a direct correlation with the high demand and opportunity for consuming drugs. The selective propaganda about banned drugs being dangerous and addictive only creates an impression that legal intoxicants such as alcohol, hemp (bhang), tobacco and others are safe to abuse. Therefore, curbing drug trafficking also requires a simultaneous effort to discourage the consumption of recreational drugs, alcohol included.
The State government’s effort has been nothing more than a one-day carnival on June 26, only to be forgotten until next year. These events mostly do not go beyond student rallies and various competitions which convey anti-drug messages. Here and there a lecture by some medical professional may highlight the health problems and social impact of drug addiction. Many a time, it appears that the social groups campaigning against drug abuse are themselves in need of adequate knowledge on the complexities and dynamics of substance abuse and dependence. As a result, the social abuse of legalised drugs gets swept under the carpet because of the over emphasis on illegal drug consumption. Ultimately, the lack of a holistic and integrated approach to the problem seems to be leading us nowhere.
Considering that the use of alcohol is a part of Goan culture and contributes to a sizable revenue for the State, the government’s policies give greater priority to the profits of the alcohol industry than addressing the health and social problems arising from alcohol abuse and addiction. It is the ease for men and women to indulge in vices which draw tourists to Goa, while the lovely beaches, heritage and green countryside are secondary. For a State known in the rest of the country as being a paradise of unlimited and unregulated liquor escapades, merely targeting of users or peddlers of illicit or banned psychotropic substances, what are commonly labelled as hard drugs, may contribute to nothing more than statistics for the Anti Narcotic Cell (ANC) reports.
If the statistics on causes of patient deaths in the Goa Medical College, the State’s premier healthcare institute, are any indicator of the extent of alcohol abuse and addiction in Goa, then Goans could be sitting on a ticking time bomb. Reports show that around 300 deaths in a year are due to alcohol liver cirrhosis, and five to six medium to severe alcohol related cases are detected every day. The recent National Health Survey (NFHS-5) points to 59% of men in Goa within the age group of 15 to 49 years and 5% of women who drink alcohol. A study undertaken by a Church Body in the 90s had shown that around 45% of Goan families have a problem with alcohol. It’s common to see youngsters of both sexes openly consuming alcohol and drugs in isolated places around Goa. The litter at picnic spots with heaps of empty liquor bottles and cans and the boisterous behaviour of picnickers are enough testimony to the rising incidence of alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is one among the primary factors leading to high incidence of road accidents, traffic violations, drownings, domestic violence, broken homes and gruesome crimes in the State.
When it comes to Goa, the prevention of drug abuse is far more challenging as individuals are exposed to alcohol in their homes and social gatherings from a very tender age. It’s easy to spot an alcoholic, but alcohol abuse which is one stage before alcohol dependence or alcoholism mostly goes unrecognised. Alcohol abuse and dependency is a social disease and cannot progress without the cooperation of family members and friends, who become co-dependents in the disease. It’s not the addict or alcoholic alone who suffers, but women, children and employers around the abuser or addict are also impacted. Mahatma Gandhi had said, “Only those women who have drunkards as their husbands know what havoc the drink devil works in homes that once were orderly and peace-giving.”
The choice of intoxicating substances hardly matters, when it comes to treating the individual and social consequences of chemical abuse and dependency. In these times, of an increasing trend of consuming a combination of drugs and alcohol, the reduction in drug abuse cannot be achieved without imposing curbs on alcohol consumption. Drug prevention programs need to target the use of psychoactive substances across the board, legal as well as illegal. The consumption of alcohol by adults in any premises or gathering where minors are present must be totally banned. There should be restricted zones for serving alcohol in public restaurants where minors should not be permitted. Driving under the influence of alcohol must be made a serious offence. Strict checks must be conducted to discourage consumption of alcohol by those on duty in government offices and in industry. Law enforcing agencies should view domestic violence arising from alcohol abuse, as seriously as sexual abuse of women and children.
Will the government obsessed with eradicating western culture dare to also tackle liquor consumption as a legacy of foreign colonial rule?
(The writer was a counsellor at a drug prevention and de-addiction centre in Goa)
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