Change in drug abuse trend in state a challenge for experts
On 20th anniversary of Manbha Foundation, expert raises concern about substance abuse at young age
Shillong, Sep 23: Jordan Thabah started smoking marijuana when he was in Class III. At the age of 10, he and two of his friends were caught smoking. While his friends gave up smoking fearing backlash from their families, Jordan continued sinking into the viciousness of addiction.
As money was not a problem for Jordan, he got access to hard drugs and it was the beginning of another dark journey.
“I was always inquisitive about forbidden things. My curiosity drove me to this,” said the 18-year-old student.
Substance abuse among children is a challenge today in Shillong and other parts of Meghalaya. This was pointed out by Eudora Warjri, advisor to the governing body of VHAM.
Speaking at the 20th-anniversary celebration of Manbha Foundation, Warjri said, “We have a bigger challenge ahead of us. The drug abuse trend and the trafficking methods have changed. We are getting cases where the drug addicts are 14-year-olds. If a hardcore heroin addict comes to us at the age of 14, it means the person started taking heroin at 10-11 years. So, it is a different kind of a challenge than what it was 20 years back.”
(Read: Fighting drug menace)
Drug abuse is a cause for concern in Meghalaya, where the number of substance abusers is about 3 lakh. The High Court recently asked the state government to file an affidavit on the action plan to address the problem.
