After Udta Punjab, it’s Udta Kashmir as heroin usage surpasses Punjab

Srinagar: A silent pandemic is slowly creeping and threatening to impact an entire generation of youth in Kashmir. Drug use or substance abuse, something unheard of even a decade earlier, has become one of the biggest threats to the welfare of the youth in trouble-torn Kashmir which has seen three decades of armed militancy.

The gravity of the situation is explicit in numbers.

According to a yet-to-be-released survey, done in 2022  by Institute of Mental Health And Neurosciences (IMHANS-K), an associated hospital of the Government Medical College of Kashmir, 2.87 per cent of the population is affected by substance abuse. The study says Kashmir has an estimated sizable population of 67,468 substance-dependent individuals.

What is further worrisome is that most of the users use the most dangerous opioids.

After Udta Punjab, it’s Udta Kashmir

2.23 per cent of the population uses opioids, mostly heroin. The opioid usage percentage in the valley is one of the highest in the country surpassing even Punjab and second only to North Eastern States.

A 2019 study revealed 2.5 per cent of the population which is 0.27 million in Punjab were substance abusers. Approximately 78000 (0.7 per cent) were Illicit Drug Users (IDU‘s)  and predominantly heroin users were 62 per cent of these.

The data collected from all ten districts of Kashmir shows the number of opioid dependents is estimated to be 52,404 in the Kashmir valley-2.23 per cent of the population.

The study found that injections are the most common mode of drug use, and IDUs or Injectable Drug Users are estimated to be about 32,097. However in terms of population percentage, it is much higher than Punjab.

Two other major community-based studies – one was conducted by the authors of the current study while another study was conducted by NDDTC AIIMS in collaboration with Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, have also reported that the major substance use in Jammu and Kashmir was illicit opioid use and heroin was the commonest opioid. 

The AIIMS study reported the prevalence of opioid dependence in the UT was 0.62% while the former reported 1.80% prevalence in two districts of Kashmir.

The study found that drug addiction has heavy economic and social implications in families. This puts a burden on the already conflict hit economy of the valley -the monthly expenditure of a heroin user was found to be Rs 88,183.58. 

Security officials say this has resulted in increased crime in terms of thefts and house breaks.

So what has changed? Security agencies say drugs are being pumped into Kashmir from neighbouring Pakistan. While earlier, Kashmir was only a transit route for drugs, in the past few years, it has turned into a big market for use.

While medical experts blame it on a combination of many factors like changing political situation, the Covid-19 lockdown and rising unemployment, security agencies call this 'narcoterorrism'.

The authors of the study write, "Economic recession does not only affect the financial status of the person but it further has potential health consequences. There is deterioration in psychological health and an increase in illicit substance use (32). In the current study, the predominant population was occupationally unemployed despite being in the age group of early employment. Kashmir has seen a volatile political situation from the last couple of years which has been further complicated by Covid-19 pandemic. Some people may use illicit drugs to cope with low mood and loss of social status."

The mood and loss of social status

The predominance of unemployed individuals among users, also points to a relationship between unemployment and illicit drug use. "The predominance of unemployed and unmarried groups has been also reported by a previous study which was conducted in two districts of Kashmir by the authors of the same study. One contradicting result in our findings as compared to the previous studies is that a large proportion of our respondents are educated, at least up to high school,'' the authors say.

According to the researchers, the current study is one of the few studies from Kashmir that has documented female substance use in Kashmir which has always been perceived as a male-related problem. The study demonstrates that females contribute to about 1.67% of the total participants, about 16% of these participants were currently married thus suggesting the penetration of substance use in the social fabric of Kashmir." 

In comparison to the rest of India where female substance use is dominant with alcohol use, in the current study female drug use is completely overshadowed by injection heroin use. Females tend to have higher psychiatric morbidity, especially mood & personality disorders, which acts as hindrances to treatment seeking and recovery,'' the authors write.

Security agencies are worried that the availability of drugs is a form of self sustaining mechanism for militancy are equally worried.

"Till about 2010, Kashmir terrorism was free from narcotic intermix. Narcotic trade blended with the terrorism landscape of Jammu and Kashmir indicates the changing strategy of ISI vis-a-vis its Kashmir operations. The aim is to make terrorism a self-financing enterprise and use the drug smugglers for smuggling of both weapons and narcotics into the state," said an official who did not want to be named.

An internal report of the government agencies calls these people the 'expendables' who are wanted in Pakistan. 

Drugs in Kashmir

From Indian side, the report suggests that ISI has allured people who have been somewhat associated with the 'counter terrorism system' like some policemen, army sources, porters, former militants or renegrades and made them part of this 'narcotic-weapon smuggling cartel'. Money according to the report acts as a huge motivation.

While there is no clear link established by the study between anti-national activities and drug addiction, 88 respondents reported using drugs during imprisonment and majority of these respondents used opioids (74 respondents) and 32 respondents reported to receive treatment for substance use during imprisonment. Whether the addiction started in jail or the users were previously addicted is not clear.

Both the medical experts and secuirty agencies are demanding a relook at the drug menace. While doctors call for the setting up of 'Addiction Treatment Facilities' and 'rehabilitation centres', security agencies want 'narcotic smuggling to be dealth with same seriousness as counter terrorism operations'. 

"Multi-agency intelligence mechanism at LOC and international border with representatives from intelligence agencies like CID, IB, Narcotic Control Bureau along with the use of technology and hence upgradation of law enforcement agencies to break the obscure cartel" are some remedies suggested by the security agency report.