KOCHI: The theme of the 2021 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is “Share Facts on Drugs Save Lives”. This aims at combating misinformation and sharing more facts on drugs. Around 35.6 million people suffer from drug-abuse related disorders globally, according to the World Drug Report 2020 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Around 269 million people used drugs in 2018, around 30 per cent increase from 2009. Adolescents and young adults are the victims of the menace. Of the 11 million people who use drugs, half of them live with hepatitis C and 1.4 million live with HIV. As many as 585,000 died in 2017 due to drug use — up one-quarter from 2008.’
National Scenario
India is one of the few countries in the world, where opium is cultivated legally. The licit cultivation takes place in three states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. This opium cultivation is controlled, regulated and monitored by Central Bureau of Narcotics. India is flanked by the Golden Crescent on the west and Golden Triangle on the east, the two sources of over 90% of world’s illicit opium. The Golden Crescent overlaps three nations, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. Golden Triangle consists of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand extended to an area of around 9,50,000 sqkm.
Types of drugs
Narcotic drugs
These are addictive drugs that reduce the user’s perception of pain and induce euphoria. The English word narcotic is derived from the Greek word “narkotikos”, which means “numbing”. These drugs have a natural source. These are three types of narcotic drugs:
1.Cannabis and its derivatives like ganja, charas/hashish and hashish oil
2.Opium and its derivatives like heroin and brown sugar
3.Coca and its derivatives like cocaine and crack
Psychotropic substances
A psychotropic substance is a chemical substance and acts primarily on the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behaviour. These substances are synthetically prepared. These are three categories of psychotropic substances:
1. Stimulants
Any drug that excites any bodily function, but more specifically of those that stimulate the brain and central nervous system.
Example: Amphetamines (Benzedrine, Dexedrine etc); Non-amphetamines (Retalin, Preludin)
2. Depressants
A depressant or central depressant, lowers neurotransmission levels, which is to depress or reduce arousal or stimulation, in various areas of the brain.
Example: Barbiturates Gluthethemide, Chloral hydrate, Methqualone/Mandrax.
3. Hallucinogens
These are the substances which effect the central nervous system by producing perceptual alterations, intense and varying emotional changes, ego distortions and thought disruptions.
Example: LSD (lysergic acid di-ethylamide)