Drug addiction- my views

a small piece on drug addiction: These days the drug addiction problem in Punjab is getting lot of coverage in the media and almost became household topic. Allegation of Rahul Gandhi also added fire to the fuel. After being trained in the subject of HIV/AIDS among drug addicts which in short is called "Harm reduction", watching harm reduction interventions in Bangkok, Manipur and piloting a small intervention in Temple Town - Tirupathi, I have come to know one basic fact. Drug usage was initially started as prescribed medicine for the soldiers who returned home after fighting battles in unknown territories and could not forget the horrors they have gone through in the battlefields. As they were not in a position to lead normal life, these medicines were used as sedatives. This slowly created demand among the normal public leading to a chain of pockets, where popeye is grown, processed and distributed. One might have heard of the term- Golden Triangle- which is associated with drug trafficking. One might have seen several movies in which the protagonist busts the drug rackets/trafficking. At another level we might have heard of countries where drug intake is legalised. In India drug consumption is illegal. But rave parties are getting common. In some communities the milder drug in take is an age old tradition. The legal enforcers are fighting in vain to curb the “menace”, the modern day competition is making youth and frustrated person to seek solace in drug usage. Unsafe syringe usage may cause HIV/AIDS among the drug users. The community outreach workers’ job is tough as he has to manage with the law enforcer as well as drug user.