Drug addiction and the awareness regarding its possible treatment and rehabilitation of young drug users in Kashmir

Abstract

The problem of drug addiction among youth in the valley of Kashmir is one of the biggest concerns today. The problem is not confined to the males alone but has started to grapple the female youth also. Nobody can deny the fact that the impact of drug addiction is not confined to the addict alone, but also affects the quality of life of whole family. Additionally, a wide range of dysfunctional behaviours can result from drug abuse and interfere with normal functioning in the family, the workplace, and broader community. Untreated substance abuse adds significant costs to families in the form of domestic violence, property crimes, child abuse and neglect, reduced productivity and even unemployment. Treatment of any disease is possible provided there is awareness about it being treatable and also of the agencies associated with the treatment process. Same is true about the treatment of drug addiction. Through this paper an effort has been made to know about the levels of awareness regarding the menace of addiction, its treatment and the availability of the organisation and agencies associated with the treatment/rehabilitation of the drug addicts in the valley of Kashmir. The results of the study reveals that although 87.33% respondents are aware about the process of drug de-addiction, but 92.67% of respondents do not know about the drug de-addiction/treatment center(s) being run in Srinagar city. Only 3.33% of respondents knew about NGO(s) working in the field of drug de-addiction in Srinagar city. Key words: Drug addiction, awareness, treatment, rehabilitation, substance abuse.