It has been a serious concern to notice high use of psychotropic substances by the school going children and other adolescent groups of Assam. The abuse of drugs in adolescence can be considered as a parameter to judge the level of social and personal threat in the current society. Drugs and alcohol corrode the learning, behavior, judgment and memory of the young people. They are not capable in dealing with day-to-day stress which in return will increase more drug use thuscreating a vicious cycle.
The abuse of drugs also generates secondary problems ranging from innate toxicity to socially destructive behaviors. The drug comes to be perceived by adolescents as problem-solving measure. Youthful drug abuse is a behavioral disorder and should be managed in this perspective. The use of opiates chiefly involves heroin, which has been used in recent years increasingly by the young group of adolescents OF Assam. Numerous other psychotropic substances have been used by the young people in their search for recreation, and relief from stress, including solvents, hairsprays, deodorants, fuels, cleansing fluids, and many stimulants, sedatives and analgesics available without prescription or not under strict legal control. Alcohol is also extensively abused by the youngsters creating all form social evils including harm both to the users and non-users. The adolescent have habit of experimenting new ideas without understanding or considering the associated risks. The peer pressure also plays an important role in which pills with unknown or untried effect are taken just to see what will happen and which may ultimately leads to dependency and addiction.
The concept for the project was conceived by the organization, because it was felt that nothing significant has been yet done for the children in their formative age against drugs and alcohol. This might be the prime region for which drug and alcohol abuse is increasing in the society every day.
Project will cover approximately fifty academic institutes of the district. There is significant industrial development in the city, and the city has witnessed both the positive and negative effects of such development. There is high migration of people from Nagaland and Manipur. The students from these states seek avenues of higher education in this city. Both the states harbor large number of drug users with high prevalence of HIV/ AIDS. Thestate is also in close proximity to the Golden triangle hence the psychotropic substances are easily available in the state. The Arunachal Pradesh has clandestine reputation cultivation of opium and opium is sold in the Tinsukia and other districts of upper Assam. All these factors have made the district very vulnerable for harboring drug users. The youth out of their youthful curiosity experiment use of psychotropic substances and later develop drug dependency. The project will arrange training for the counselors of the schools to identify the vulnerabilities of drug use in the schools and address the issue in appropriate way. Suitable IEC materials will be developed to raise awareness against drugs and alcohol in the general community. Networking and advocacy will be done at multi-sectoral level for creating an enabling environment to combat drugs and alcohol menace of the region.