‘DESIGNER’ DISASTER

Volume 5 Issue 5 May 2015

The epidemic of substance abuse in young generation has assumed alarming dimensions in India in recent decades. Data on emerging trends on substance use highlights shift towards increasing use of ‘designer’ or ‘synthetic’ drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, mandrax and synthetic cannabinoids like bath salts than natural psychotropic substances such as cannabis and hashish. Latest data on drugs seizure by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) shows that smuggling and consumption of synthetic drugs, which are far more addictive and injurious to health than natural ones, has been constantly rising.

Changing cultural values, increasing economic stress, industrialization, influence of media, strong marketing by substance producing industries and loosening of the traditional support system are leading to initiation & progression of substance use. Drug use, misuse or abuse is also primarily due to the nature of the drug abused (designer drugs being chemically more potent).

Two classes of commonly used designer drugs include:

1. Stimulants: mephedrone, MPDV, piperazines, “bath salts”
2. Psychedelics: 2C-B, mescaline, DMT, etc.

Factors Associated with synthetic drugs popularity includes

• They induce psychoactive effects
• They are perceived as safe drugs than older drugs
• They are not easily detectable in urine and blood samples

The difficulty with determining synthetic drug abuse is that drug tests, like laws, are largely trailing behind. Symptoms of synthetic drug use can last for hours or even days and includes severe ones like seizures, hallucinations, suicidal tendencies and attempts, homicidal tendencies, delusions, aggression, paranoia, chest pain, heart attack and sometimes death and less severe symptoms including agitation, anxiety, restlessness & euphoria.

Apart from physical & psychological effects, synthetic drug abuse has led to a detrimental impact on the society. Intravenous drug use leading to HIV/AIDS has added a new dimension to the problem, especially in the Northeast states of the country. Drugs remove inhibition and impair judgment egging one on to commit offences. Also it affects the financial stability, causes untold emotional pain for every member of the family. With most drug users being in the young age group, the loss in terms of human potential is incalculable. The damage to the physical, psychological, moral and intellectual growth of the youth is very high and carry heavy toll on society & law system in general.

Now is the high time for young generation to understand the disaster these drugs cause in total rather than using them to escape hard realities of life. The management aims at each level including family, society, health care providers to help these patients in their rehabilitation.