Drug overdose continues to claim lives

Thimphu: At least one person is arrested everyday in the country for abusing or smuggling illegal drugs.

On average, three people are brought to the national referral hospital in Thimphu every week to treat for drug overdose. That is excluding those who overdose but do not come to hospital for treatment.

This year, there have been three deaths due to overdose.

In January this year, there were four cases of drug overdose brought to the emergency ward at the referral hospital. One person was brought to the hospital already dead.

Statistics show that the number of drug abusers in the country is increasing (see table on pg. 24). This year, within one and a half months, 54 people have been arrested for the crime.

It has been noticed that the number of female involved in drug-related crimes is also increasing every year.

The youngest drug abuser arrested by police so far is 10 years old and the oldest, 57.

The police have observed that most youth abuse drugs because of lack of proper parental guidance. “Most of them are dependents, who come from broken families, or are raised by a single parent,” said Major Dorji Khandu of the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substance Enforcement Unit of RBP. “Some abuse drugs because of peer pressure.”He said the youth lack guidance and are ignorant of the laws related to drugs.

Lama Shenphen Zangpo, a Buddhist teacher and avid social worker, conducts a nightly drug and alcohol outreach programme in Thimphu. He said, “I have noticed several common trends. In many cases, the youth come from broken families, not just simple cases of separation, but from households where the father has found a second wife and abandoned his original spouse and children. This causes a lot of confusion in a growing child, which often leads to anti-social behaviour and abuse of alcohol and illegal drugs.”

He said many children, who do not complete class X or fail to secure a government job, feel they are failures. As a result, they assume a ‘hungry ghost’ mentality – a sense of continuous craving but without satisfaction. It is the same mentality that feeds consumerism, but in the case of unfulfilled youth, it can be a cause of addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Lama Shenphen said another cause for youth turning to substance abuse is that there are few places in Thimphu (with the exception of Nazhoen Pelri) where the youth can enjoy healthy activities. Mostly, there are snooker halls and bars. There are even fewer such opportunities in places like Paro, Bumthang, Phuentsholing and Samdrupjongkhar, he said.

Twenty-year-old Dorji, who has just come out clean of the habit, said he had started substance abuse with smoking at the age of 14. He had wanted to be part of his group of friends, and abusing drugs seemed necessary. That habit made him a problematic student and a disobedient son.

“I overdosed once and slept for two days continuously,” he said. “That made me think for a moment, but the next moment, I got back to the habit.” It was only after he met Lama Shenphen Zangpo that he got motivation and inspiration to become clean.

Dorji said that today he ‘stands tall’ in the society. But his friends do not believe that he is clean. He goes back to school this year.

According to Major Dorji Khandu, drugs are the seed of crime. “Most of the petty crimes are committed under the influence of drugs,” he said.

One hundred and sixty-two and 149 people in 2010 and 2009 respectively out of the total arrested for petty crimes tested positive for illegal drugs. Crimes such as vandalism, public nuisance, theft, robbery, battery and assault are mostly committed under the influence of drugs. Now, the police have made it mandatory to conduct drug test on people arrested for other crimes.

According to the police, marijuana was the most abused substance followed by solvent drugs such as dendrite and correcting fluids.

From 2001 to 2010, there had been 41 deaths due to drug overdose. The highest number of deaths, 17, was recorded in Phuentsholing followed by 13 in Thimphu. “The number can be much higher because most of overdose deaths go unreported,” said Major Dorji Khandu.

By Tandin Pem

One Response to “Drug overdose continues to claim lives”

1. Monie says:

   March 3, 2011 at 8:59 am

   Despite various measures being taken to keep the youth away from drug abuse, there is an increasing trend to misuse it. There is a law in the country to deal with the problems, various strategies are adopted, awareness programs are conducted, etc..
   Yet, ironically, there is an increasing cases. What will help then? Where can we turn to?

   Those youths have fallen prey to such addictive behaviors. They are looking for someone to help them, who would listen to them. There is an emptiness within them. They are incomplete in life. God alone can fulfill there search for deeper meaning in life.

   Reply