Drug Abuses Among Young People Of Nepal
Psycho-Social Observation

By Dr. Niranjan Prasad Upadhyay

A DRUG is usually defined as any substance that can affect the functioning of the body. Taken in relatively small amounts, a drug significantly increases or decreases cellular activities in the body. According to drug researchers, the central nervous system is more sensitive to drugs than are other cells of the body. Psychotogenic drugs are also called hallucinogens because they distort perceptions and cause hallucinations. Drug addiction, some social scientists believe, is a social cancer that penetrates into the society and diffuses slow poison to its members undermining their growth potentials.

Due to the ill effects of drug abuse, young energetic and vigorous manpower would prove to be useless, unproductive, wasted and unwanted elements for the nation and its reconstruction. Thus, the problem of drug addiction causes a great loss to an individual as well as society. Extensive research findings have made it clear that a wide range of complex individual and environmental factors account for the initiation and development of drug abusing behaviour. Researchers have highlighted the importance of studying the personality of abusers. They urge that drug abusers would differ from non-abusers not only in their life style but also on the pattern of personality characteristics. Psychologists have reported that drug abusers are categorised as inadequate, low in self-esteem, rebellious against authority and aggressive.

Drug abuse or dependence may occur at any age, but seems to be most common during adolescence and young adulthood. In Nepal, older and younger generations use drugs for reducing anxiety and tension, escaping from stressful life and coping more effectively with the problems of living. The younger generation has also turned to drugs for mind expansion and pleasure. Thus there has arisen a "value gap" or difference in value orientations between the generations that complicates the problem of drug abuse and social control. Drugs are often used as a means of escaping from the frustrations of life. Drug addiction has been considered as a challenging problem by many countries of the world. Growing in the form of an epidemic all over the world, drug addiction has been causing not only psychosocial problem but also hindering economic developments. The effect of any drug depends on the type of drug used, the amount taken and the manner of taking drugs etc. If drugs, whether natural or synthetic are administered to treat the medical problem, it can correct the imbalances in body chemistry, protect against disease and relieve tensions, anxieties, fatigues and pains. But if they are used inadequately, they can cause physical, social, financial, psychological, and legal complications. Continued use of drugs leads the users to addiction. Gradually, they are habituated easily and resistance is developed with the repeated administration of drugs. Psychologically, drug abuse in the Nepalese society is very complicated. The lack of good parenting creates stress on the young people and they are driven towards frustration, complication and take to the habit of taking drugs. The South Asia Drug Demand Reduction Report (1999) presents a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of drug abuse and drugs demand reduction issues in the South Asia sub-region, specifically in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The report highlights the extent, patterns, trends and situational analysis of drug abuse; health, social and economic consequences; and the response at grassroots, national and regional levels. The challenges that lie ahead are also outlined. The problem of drug abuse in Nepal is not an indigenous problem: rather it was brought here by the "Hippies’’ during the early seventies and was carried over by the young generation of the country. Gradually, the problem has spread over the major chunk of Nepalese population. It is estimated that approximately fifty thousand people in Nepal are drug addicts and most of them are in the age group between 15 to 30 years.

Prostitution is sometimes used as a means of obtaining money for drugs and many prostitutes are regular or occasional injectors. Subedi, K.et al. (1994) have forwarded that in open prostitution in Kathmandu valley, the girls are addicted to drugs such as hashish, cigarettes, alcohol and others.

The young drug users of Nepal generally exibit various types of external behaviours such as loss of appetite, aggression, stubbornness, stealing and lying. Poly drug abusers (using heroin, hashish and ganja) have been found in significant percentage. It is found that the addicts use drugs orally, by smoking, sniffing and injecting. Police department estimates that 25 per cent of all crime is drug related. It is also estimated that there are between twenty to twenty five thousand addicts in Kathmandu valley alone. An outreach needle exchange and primary care programme for injecting drug users was established in Kathmandu in 1991, but has only had the resources to reach a small proportion of the city’s estimated 15-20,000 injecting drug users. The Nepali drug delinquency arises due to parent-related causes: the absence of appropriate control: reactive patterns of misbehaviour: lack of interpersonal relationship and communication (Gaffney, T. 1998). In order to avoid psychological terror in a family, an effective and continuous guidance, care and counseling should be provided to the family and people affected by the problem of drug abuse in the society. A survey of 19 urban areas of Nepal showed very high infection rates for HIV, Hepatitis C and B and other sexually transmitted infections among injecting drug users. Most drug users in Kathmandu do not use hard drugs like heroin but cheaper "pharmaceutical drugs" like tidigesic, a sedative containing morphine, synthetic morphine and benzodizapom. Generally, mood swings, reduced interest in sex, impaired memory and concentration, disease of the respiratory tract, mental illness, chronic sleep problems, poor appetite, high blood pressure, acute anxiety and mental illness are the basic psycho-physical symptoms of the drug abusers. Psychologists have played a key role in developing behavioural medicine and psychotherapies techniques for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers. Recent advances in health psychology are characterized by the emerging contribution being made by psychologists collaborating with the health professionals from other disciplines in the interdisciplinary field of behavioural medicine. Clinical applications of behavioural medicine are gaining importance day by day in the total management of drug related health problems. On the whole, research has shown that any drug treatment is more effective when it is available to the drug users at the time when he or she voluntarily seeks help.

What Does 23.4 Million Mean?

By Mohan K.C.

THE ten yearly exercise of counting the heads in the country was recently completed. June 22 was marked all over the country as the National Census Day. With this, according to the information provided by the Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal’s population has touched the 23.4 million mark. This shows that the population is galloping at a rapid rate despite the efforts made to check the growth rate.

If the figures for 1991, the last time the population count was conducted, are studied then it shows that the population has grown by almost five million. The growth in one decade indicates that efforts have not been enough to keep population in check. The population was 18.5 million in 1991.

The census taken every ten years is not an effort to maintain a record only; it has far greater utility than what common people think it to be. The most glaring thing is that even most of the political leaders and officials take it for granted to see it only as a means to gauge how many more mouths have to be fed.

The wrong concept of census is the outcome of no plans and policies being formulated according to the data collected during the massive nationwide exercise. The first census in the country was taken in 1911 and since then it has been a feature every ten years. But action as regards national development, including the balanced development of the five development regions, has not been commensurate.

Nepal has a high population growth rate which is evident from the almost five million increase in the ten years than the census in 1991 was taken. The challenges facing the country are enormous and controlling the population growth rate has been a daunting task. Among the many factors that have contributed to the rapid growth rate, illiteracy, poverty and lack of awareness are considered to be a few in the list.

The high population growth rate was not uncommon even in Europe in the 19th century. It was education that changed the attitude of the people. Education generates awareness among the people about the consequences. In Nepal, the literacy stands below 50 per cent which is rather unfortunate. Even though the expansion of education has been high on the agenda since Durbar School came into being and specially since the planned development was introduced in the country. The high priority accorded to educational sector has brought about some positive results but the expectations have not been realised.

The investment being made in the education sector has not proved to be enough. More money and skilled manpower have to make their presence felt before a radical change in the educational scenario is possible. The plans and programmes aside, there is every need for sincerity and commitment to materialise the objectives. This is all the more urgent when the journey has already begun in the 21st century.

Education is the basis on which to make the people aware of the benefits of a planned family. For example, news reports always make the round in the media of cases where seventeen daughters are not enough and a male child is necessary if one is to go to heaven or marrying for a number of times till a son is born. Such behaviour or beliefs are built on the foundation of conservative thought. They can only be changed through education.

Not much can be said about the generation that has seen its days but it is necessary for the present to see that all children of school-going age are enrolled in schools. There are problems despite the fact that, at least, primary education is completely free. The problems of every family are unique. With more than 50 per cent of the population below the poverty line, it is evident that the families in general tend to utilise the labour of their children either in household activities or in income generating ones which points to only one result: no education for the children.

A news item recently published in this daily highlighted the fact that people of the Ahir community consider taking care of their cattle more important than on learning how to read and write. It must be realised that these are real life situations. One may be bound to believe them in their own social setting but on a broader perspective it may prove to be counter productive. A village or community may eke out its existence without education but not the country. For development relies heavily on education specially on technical in the present age.

Without imparting education to all the efforts at checking the present population growth rate is not possible. It is like two sides of the same coin. More people who have access to education become responsible citizens and they know what is best for the country. With education comes development and a realisation that a small family is the basis of a prosperous country.

Hence, the census taken this with its unique features must provide the guidelines for development. If no cue were taken from the results of the census of 2001 for the future plans and policies, the whole exercise would prove to have been futile. The head count is important in the sense that relevant action can be taken on its basis to speed up development activities besides putting a check on population explosion.

Learning Lessons

By Krishna Sharma

JUST when the concept of globalisation is breaking down the political barriers in the West there are still some countries, which still want to create more border lines by not allowing even the sports persons to perform their best in the tournaments played for brotherhood and sportsmanship.

Yes we are talking about a recent visa incident for our cricketers who were at first not allowed the travel document by the Embassy of Canada based in the Capital City of India. The New Delhi based Canadian diplomatic mission almost put in jeopardy Nepal’s hope to play as it stopped four cricketers among the 17-member Nepalese contingent from taking part in the ongoing International Cricket Council (ICC) Trophy tournament in Toronto, Canada. Now that the Nepalese cricket contingent is returning home after its good performance in the ICC Trophy, the concerned Embassy must have been realising that it had but underestimated the Nepalese spirit.

It so happened that some three weeks back that the Embassy of Canada in New Delhi denied visas to four players, including the team captain, citing that they could not provide evidences for their return to the Himalayan Kingdom upon completion of the tournament.

The Nepalese Cricket squad had then no choice but to return home with a feeling that it would not be able to represent Nepal at the international cricket tourney in Toronto. But after the highest level intervention into the matter the New Delhi based Embassy had granted visas to other new sets of players.

But by displaying better performances and defeating countries like Gibraltar and Germany, the Nepalese team proved that it was not to be undermined. The Nepalese performance has thumped its validity as an ICC member, and on the other hand it also justified that Canadian Embassy’s denial to award the visas was a wrong move. However, it is unfortunate to say that despite its relatively good performance, the Nepalese team could not enter in the super league.

The story does not end here. And it should not. From the Nepalese experience at Toronto tourney we are required to learn one of the most important lessons that the tour has come to us as an eye opener. Instead of putting all the blames on the head of the Delhi stationed Embassy and similar other embassies, we must also learn that we need to earn our dignity by ourselves.

But if one looks the sorry stories of footballers and taekwandoists, we must accept the truth that we are not at all free from the guilt: overstaying or hiding in foreign countries. Had some of our national footballers not gone into hiding in Japan a couple of years ago and some of our taekwandoists not hidden in South Korea last year, Canada would not have found enough reasons denying the visas to our players this time.

It is again not only the absconding players who are defaming the country abroad. There are a number of people from various walks of life who are staying illegal abroad and are posing a great threat to country’s image in the international arena. The problem of brain drain, overstaying and engaging in some illegal works abroad has not only made the country fall short of skilled manpower but has also denigrated the nation, both economically and morally.

Thus, the country’s first and foremost goal to address this grave issue is to identify the reasons of why the Nepalese are longing for staying abroad illegally.

By realising the reasons and doing accordingly, the country would be able to address this issue sincerely. Had the Nepalese footballers who escaped in Japan been provided with enough perks, facilities and respect for their performance at home, they would not have gone for such a nasty act of hiding themselves in the foreign land thereby ending possibilities of becoming national or international heroes.

Moreover, it is not only the country and the governments but also the visiting people who should help save the image of the country by not staying illegally in the foreign lands, no matter how much money they earn there or the luxurious life they could lead. Before going into hiding they must once think that Janani Janma Bhumishya Swar-gadapi Gariyasi (Mother and motherland are dearer than heavens.)