The A-B-C-D of Abating Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
Let us first understand the problem. According to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), there is scarcely a region on the planet, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and around the world, where marijuana or opium has not been grown anytime in the last 5000 years. From cannabis to cocaine and from opioids to opiates, mankind has always found solace in the instant highs these products deliver. People of science have also found medical remedies using them in controlled doses.
Drug Abuse (and the keyword is Abuse) and Illicit Trafficking (and the keyword is Illicit) becomes a problem because the demand for the drug outstrips supply. Abuse is the reason for demand to rise. And controls on supply give rise to the illicit aspect.
The Accomplices to the gangsters nesting in your house are Terrorists; the ones who farm the drug ingredients in remote hideouts. Arms Dealers; who facilitate the exchange of guns with drugs across borders, like Mexico-USA and Pakistan-India for example. And Seedy Agents; who reach the drugs to our pockets and guns to the Terrorists. These are the guys every drug abuser is financing.
And the Gang Leader? To unmask the Mastermind now – drumrolls – it’s Technology. Think about it. Fifty years ago, there were Drugs but the technology was fledgeling. And there was neither Abuse, not Illicit. Now Technology is strong and so are Abuse and Illicit. But does this mean that Technology has helped the Accomplices to grow? No. Accomplices have always been around. What Technology has done is, clandestinely caused the demand to grow.
Let us see how this is happening (in your house) and the A-B-C-D of its prevention at the same time.
Addiction Quite like the known suspects – alcohol, cigarettes and drugs – video games and even TV – are addictions. And games, on the cell-phone for instance, are what we encourage our kids to get addicted to. Mindful of “bad addictions”, we don’t let them touch alcohol or cigarettes. So what do they hook into as teenagers? Drugs. Weed is the new PUBG. Hash is the new Clash of Clans. The need to be addicted to something itself is addictive.
Boredom I remember saying “I’m bored”, as a kid. And I remember my mom ushering me out of the house with a bike or on skates. Or asking me to go buy groceries, which would immediately get me interested in something else. Today we have Amazon and Bigbasket for that. And heaps of vehicles with pollution to boot. So what will today’s kids do to change their energy? What will put them in the instant high that a backflip on skates would do?
Communication breakdown The Dalai Lama observed, “We have built more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but we have less communication”. At a micro-level, this is about parents and kids. The malady is not that adolescents are getting influenced by their computers. The malady is that they are NOT getting influenced by well-meaning people who can potentially prepare them to stay away from drugs.
Disrespect for ingestion And finally, food technology has now made it habitual to rip open a bag and pour its contents down without a thought or question. This is so very contrary to our natural bio-rhythms. As a society, we are getting increasingly distanced from foods that aid healthy growth of the body. And once the body doesn’t know or care about the difference, chemical ingestions like drugs become “natural” recourses to address social problems.
In conclusion therefore, wisdom on emotional control, social interaction and right-eating from 5000 years ago still defines the most relevant methods to live in modern society. And if this is revisited by every human on the planet – as an urgent necessity – drug abuse and many other current issues will dissolve and disappear from the world as a natural consequence.
