CHANDIGARH: “I’ll try it only once. I can stop whenever I want.” Or the belief that even prolonged drug use can be easily overcome through rehabilitation. For a youngster on the verge of experimentation, such thoughts may seem harmless. But these beliefs can be dangerous.
These misconceptions are being addressed through a new 14-week curriculum with upgraded and adaptive modules featuring real-life video narratives and stories, expert insights, classroom discussions, interactive worksheets and activity-based learning to combat substance and drug abuse among students.
Rolled out by the Punjab Education Department for Classes IX to XII, the curriculum will reach more than 7.5 lakh students across 3,600 government senior secondary schools in the state, moving away from traditional awareness lectures.
The AAP-led Punjab government, through the School Nashean Virudh curriculum, has now started working to prevent substance abuse among youth by challenging and dismantling such beliefs. This evidence-based curriculum, developed in collaboration with CEGA, University of California, Berkeley, and Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a research organisation co-founded by Nobel Prize laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, addresses how young people may underestimate the addictive nature of opioids, increasing their likelihood of experimentation and, consequently, addiction.
The curriculum highlights that the battle against drug abuse has to begin much before addiction, by busting the myths that can make drug use appear less dangerous than it actually is.
According to officials, the structured intervention has yielded a sharp rise in awareness levels over the past year. The proportion of students who understand that trying “chitta” even once carries a grave risk of addiction rose from 60 per cent to over 90 per cent, while students recognising that willpower alone is insufficient to overcome addiction jumped from 46 per cent to nearly 80 per cent.
The resource material includes eight documentary films on addiction and recovery, along with two expert videos explaining the neurological aspects of substance dependence to students and parents. Classrooms also focus on practical peer-pressure refusal techniques, training students to say “no” politely, walk away, change the topic or use humour.
The curriculum identifies several key misconceptions that need to be addressed among youngsters.
The first, and perhaps the most dangerous, is the belief that trying chitta or heroin once or a few times will not lead to addiction. In fact, heroin is highly addictive, and even a single use can carry a risk of addiction.
The second myth is that a person who has just started using drugs can stop whenever he or she wants. The fact is that addiction is not simply a question of self-control. Once dependence develops, stopping can become extremely difficult.
The third misconception is that going to rehab necessarily means that a person will be permanently cured. Recovery can be a long-term process, and relapse can occur. The message, therefore, is not that treatment is futile, but that recovery requires sustained effort and support rather than being viewed as a one-time event. Prevention, therefore, remains better than cure.
Another belief the campaign wants youngsters to reconsider is that so-called “milder” substances are relatively harmless and have nothing to do with drug addiction. The curriculum specifically flags tobacco, alcohol, opium, pills and prescription drugs as substances that can lead to experimentation, often without users fully understanding the risks or how difficult it can be to stop.
The fifth myth is perhaps less obvious: that people who eventually become addicted must have intended from the beginning to become regular drug users. The campaign stresses that drug abuse can begin as temporary experimentation, often in the presence of peer pressure, personal crisis, mental health challenges or performance pressures.
The sixth misconception is that drug abuse mainly harms the person using drugs. The school curriculum takes a broader view: addiction can have physical, medical, financial and social consequences, affecting relationships and families.
Amandeep Kaur, Nodal Teacher for the curriculum and a chemistry teacher at the School of Eminence, Chheharta, Amritsar, pointed out that the interactive format has generated strong curiosity among students, who look forward to the weekly sessions. She said the curriculum has benefited students in two important ways.
“First, it has given them the vocabulary and a science-backed understanding of addiction, helping them understand what addictive substances do to the brain and body rather than viewing addiction only as a matter of ‘willpower’ or personal choice. Second, the curriculum has equipped students with practical strategies to say ‘no’ when faced with peer pressure or an offer to try drugs, making them more confident about responding to such situations in real life,” she said.
Meanwhile, Anil Joshi, principal of Government Senior Secondary School in Khanpur, Ropar, said skits and creative activities had transformed students into “torchbearers” of the movement.
Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh said, “At its core, the Yudh Nashean Virudh campaign is seeking to change the conversation around drug abuse—from one that begins only after addiction has taken hold to one that begins when a youngster first hears: ‘Try it once; nothing will happen.’ The objective is fairly simple: break the myth before the myth becomes a habit, and stop experimentation before it becomes dependence.”
Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said the curriculum includes eight documentary films featuring individuals who have experienced experimentation, addiction and recovery, along with two expert videos explaining the science of addiction, one each for students and parents.
“Supporting material comprises quizzes, discussion guides, posters, worksheets and interactive sessions. Students are also taught practical refusal strategies to handle peer pressure, such as saying ‘no’ politely, giving a reason, walking away, changing the topic, using humour or planning responses in advance,” he added.