Dhriti Haloi
Being a drug addict can affect a person’s whole life. They start lying to people, steal things from them, even the ones who love them the most. They also tend to become more like an anti-social element, the spouts of aggression makes the addict a violent person as well. These are the certain attributes of a drug addict which we all someway or the other aware of. And there are drug users in almost every corner of the world. Despite, it being a silent but a certain killer, there are many such people who cannot restrict themselves from consuming this poison.
I, since long kept on hearing about numerous deaths due to overdose of drugs, but what grabbed my attention of this very thing was the death of a friend. He was the lead guitarist of a local band and also my childhood friend. His sudden and tragic death some way or the other inculcate in me an urge to know more about it, and also a certain desire to understand its present situation in Guwahati.
On a chat with Dr. H.K. Sarma, Medical Officer, Opium Substitute Therapy Centre, GMCH, a new perspective about the drug users of Guwahati came to light. There are drug users in almost every nook and corner of the city, with special reference to certain areas (Maligaon, Kacharibasti, Lachitnagar, Panjabari, Six mile etc). He also informed that the equation between girls and boys consuming drugs are neck to neck, but the written documents of girls consuming drugs are less owing to social stigma associated with it. It was also informed that there is no definite age group of the users, it may vary from 18 up to 45 yrs as well.
Further, on enquiring about the reasons of people getting driven to this poison, he answered,“perhaps it can be depression, frustration, anxiety, and also to some extent curiosity, actually more appropriate would be to say that the reasons varies from person to person”.
The medication procedure is not easy. A medicine called Buprenorphine, which is taken sublingually, needs to be kept under the tongue and it takes three minutes to absorb. The medicine is not allowed to take home; it must be taken in the hospital premises. Moreover, when the patient takes this medicine, he is advised not to take alcohol, sleeping tablets or any other heroine type of drugs within 24hrs, as there may be severe type of reactions which may even lead to death but if taken regularly, it cures them totally.
Dr. Sarma further adds, ‘the best news of this menace is that the drug addicts come forward boldly to take the medicine regularly and enjoy the world cheerfully’.
