The grenade is ticking

This normal is not boring but frightening. And the statistics are stark. Substance abuse among urban teens is becoming increasingly common and casual. ‘Everybody does it’ is what you hear on the streets, in the classrooms and in hip cafés.

“I initially tried weed for the first time in the 12th grade. Coming to a college with a new set of faces made everyone want to live off the edge a little. We were trying to look ‘cool’ in front of different kids from different schools.” - Nitin N.*

Nitin, now in his early 30s, works as a team lead in a BPO and admits that his teenage days were days of rebellion and experimentation, particularly with alcohol and smoking joints. He is among an estimated 13 per cent of India’s young population (below 20 years) who have experimented with or abused substances and drugs. The National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India commissioned by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 2019 shows that nationally, about 4.6 lakh children need help with the harmful use of inhalants. And weed is so ubiquitous that it’s often passed off as a ‘harmless and recreational’ drug, even though consumption of cannabis products such as ganja and charas is illegal.

Dr Syeda Ruksheda, a Mumbai-based psychiatrist with extensive experience in working with teenagers and adults, observes a trend of increased usage of illicit substances among teenagers these days. “Of course, we have no hard epidemiological data on this yet, but from my practice, I see a younger group using drugs like cannabis, particularly the Gen-Z and young millennials. Especially after Covid-19, we have seen an increase in substance experimentation, use, and abuse,” she explains. Gene D’ Silva, who runs Jeevan Dhara, a non-profit that also works in the rehab of individuals with a de-addiction centre in Mumbai, concurs. “Statistics state that there are three crore abandoned and orphaned children in India. Three hundred seventy thousand of these children are in institutions and 9,589 orphanages. But where are the other two crore and 96,30,000 children? Most of them are in major cities in India. And 90 per cent of these children are into substance abuse.”

Such dire stats bring to the fore the increasingly casual use of substances among teens. Dr Ruksheda feels that some of the increase can be attributed to easier access. “Vaping has become so much easier. You vape with tobacco or cannabis,” she says. She feels that Gen-Z has more challenges. “They are a digital generation. The millennials too had experience with a digital platform in their formative years. But as far as psychological challenges are concerned, there is much more competition, expectation, uncertainty, and a different socio-cultural base among the Gen-Z.”

Deepening confusion

Sociologist Ashish Kumar, Assistant Professor of Sociology at BPS Women’s University in Sonepat, observes that disconnection and social distance had become the norm, even before the pandemic. Teenagers living in urban spaces, he feels, are particularly vulnerable to substance abuse. The reasons for this are many, Ashish opines, including heightened exposure to different forms of violence and prejudice, deepening confusion and mismatch between parental expectations and self-evaluation, the prevalence of bullying, trolling on social media, and the added trauma of broken homes and familial fractures. “This is a stage where rebellion also needs articulation, but the general societal appraisal is usually beset with disapproval and attempts to tame such behaviour. This impacts the creative adolescent quest for exploring their world and finding genuine comfort in belongingness. No wonder addictive and maladaptive responses begin to surface,” Ashish explains.

As Nitin says, it was the ‘cool’ factor that first compelled him to try drugs. That and curiosity when he saw a kid from college roll a joint. “Having heard so much about weed in songs and movies and from other friends, I got curious and asked if I could try it. So, I smoked a little bit and instantly felt a totally different vibe.” That was the beginning of what he terms ‘the misuse’ of weed. Nitin admits that the drug took priority over family and friends and even his education. “I messed up pretty bad,” he confesses. It took a while for Nitin to find his real ‘cool’ friends and turn his life around for the better. But most of the other kids from his college, he says, had tried a lot of other harder substances, although he stayed away from those.

In the government survey, alcohol was the most common psychoactive substance that Indians use, with about 14 per cent of the population between 10 and 75 years using alcohol. That is about 16 crore people. Cannabis and opioids follow next, with about three crore individuals admitting to having used any cannabis product. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi have the highest prevalence of cannabis use in the country. The most common opioid is heroin, followed by pharmaceutical opioids and opium. But dangerously, substance abuse also occurs through the rampant use of inhalants and sedatives. As many as 1.8 crore people are users of sedatives (non-medical and non-prescription use).

Clearly, India has a problem. But what can parents and caregivers do? Dr Rukhseda suggests that parents being involved in their teen’s life acts as a good safety net. Signs like extreme secrecy, mood swings, and inexplicable shifts in patterns, behaviours, or mood may be at-risk indicators. “We need to start having conversations about mental health, including substance use and abuse. We owe it to our kids to tell them the vulnerabilities, especially where addictions may run in families — to be aware of the consequences.” Because they should know that if they start using substances at a young age, the effects are irreversible, she adds.

Inadequate support

Ashish also feels that more awareness is needed. And importantly, more needs to be done at the societal level, according to him. “A dialogue is a much broader term than awareness. A sustained dialogue is needed. And most importantly, let’s stop labelling the teens and inspire trust, to begin with.” You can’t simply blame the peer group dynamics alone or, for that matter, on parent-child interaction, he feels. “Parents today are feeling burdened with many such tasks which educational institutions are supposed to shoulder.” As the survey notes, access to treatment services for those affected by substance abuse is inadequate, with just one in 20 people ever receiving in-patient treatment at a rehab centre.

But is there hope that things can be turned around? Gene D’ Silva is a larger-than-life figure who exudes optimism and certainly believes that things can, with government support. He cites the example of a recovering addict who left the rehab centre he runs six years ago. “He now has his own ship repair company and is doing very well,” Gene says with a smile. There’s another who has been sober for the last 10 years and works on the Metro in Mahim. These cases fill Gene with the hope that while things may seem dire, there’s always scope to bring change.

Nitin, who confesses to having turned his life around, says that change is possible — starting with the right peer support and that little intangible variable called belief in yourself.

*Some names have been changed on request.