HYDERABAD: The sensational crackdown on drug peddling and abuse two months ago by Telangana prohibition and excise department as well as the Hyderabad Police has led to a spike in the number of cases involving city teens being referred to drug de-addiction centres for treatment.
The excise dragnet, spread in the first week of July, not only reached the doorsteps of several Tollywood celebrities, but also brought to light the prevalence of drug abuse in schools and colleges, students of which were found to be abusers of psychotropic drugs such as LSD and MDMA.
Therapists have refused to give out the numbers not to reveal the details of victims who are seeking help. They have pointed out that a majority of the victims are between the age group of 16 and 19 years and are addicted mostly to Marijuana (ganja). The shortage of de-addiction centres, the rules that prevent admission of adolescents to these centres and the dire need for parental care and effort for the young victims to come out of addiction were reported earlier. In many cases it is the parents who are motivating their children to undergo counselling.