The Kashmir Monitor
By Sameer Ahmad Thoker
Addiction is a chronic propensity that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite their harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him/her. Drug abuse refers to a mal adaptive use of substance in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods not condoned by medical professional. Drug abuse is not limited to mood altering or psycho-active drugs but activity is also considered substance abuse when improperly used. Therefore mood altering and psycho active drugs are not the only drugs of abuse but substance abuse often include problems with impulse control and impulsivity. Drug abuse makes central nervous system affected which produce changes in mood, level of awareness and sensation. Most of these drugs also alter systems often than central nervous system, some of these are often thought of being as abused. Drugs contain chemicals that tap in the brain communication system and disrupt the way nerve cells normally send, receive and process information. There are at least two ways by which drugs cause disruption
?By imitating the brains natural chemical messenger
?By over stimulating the reward circuit of the brain
Some drugs like heroin have similar structure to chemical messenger of brain called neurotransmitter, which are naturally produced by the brain. This similarity allows the drugs to fool the brain receptor and activate nerve cells to send abnormal messages. Drug addiction is considered as a thrilling experience by new addict who face the brunt of its complications later in life. The dependence of drug addiction along with the complications of drug addiction makes the recovery process, a tedious job. Complications at psychological level include
•Inefficiency and failing performance at work place and schools
•Legal problems due to crime committed in the form of stealing –driving with intoxications as a result of drug dependence
•Family or material disorders are common in addicts, behaviour changes may cause family strife and custody issue
•Drug addiction is considered as a social stigma, we tend to lose our relations and friends
The drug abusers may fall a prey to unsafe sexual abuse and thus contract disease like HIV and the symptoms of seizure,comma, agitation disorientation and Psychosis are produced due to prolonged drug abuse. This condition if untreated can lead cerebral hypoxia and haemorrhage.
The physical complications are abundant in drug addicts depending on the drug which the abuser is used to. The drug addiction get a tight grip on the addict as the euphoria after taking the drug does not wane easily and over dosing risk is innumerable.
Drug abuse can also create a number of life changing complications like
Accidents; if you are addicted to drug you are more likely to drive and do other dangerous activities while intoxicated
Suicide; people who are addicted to drugs commit suicide more often than those people who are not. There is a high rate of suicide in alcoholic and other drug abusers. the reason believed to cause the increased risk of suicide include the long term use of alcohol and other drugs causing physiological disorientation of brain chemistry as well as social isolation . Another factor is the acute intoxicating effects of the drugs may make suicide more likely to occur. Suicide is also very common in adolescent. Among10, 4 suicides in adolescent are being related to drug abusers. In our Kashmir approximately more than 40% of suicides are related to drug abuse. Drug addiction is Haram in Islam, as Almighty Allah in the holy Quran says that “O you who believe in intoxicants and gambling of stones and deviation by arrows are an abomination of Satan’s handiwork, avoid such abomination that you may prosper. Almighty has described intoxicants among other things as being appearing, despicable and hateful acts of Satan and has commanded us to abstain from them. Almighty thereafter stated in the next verse “Satan plan is to sow hatred and enmity amongst you with intoxicants and gambling and to hamper you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer; will you not give up?
Bear in mind that when the term intoxicants is used it also includes narcotics because they too are among things which results in the loss of self-control. Jabir R.A narrated that prophet Mohammad (peace be up on him) is reported to have said “That who so ever drinks wine, whip him. If he repeats for the fourth time kill him (TIRMIZI, ABU DAWOOD)
Umme Salma R.A narrated that prophet Mohammad PUBH prohibit every intoxicant and Muffatiri-e anything which excites and irritates the mind , body and heart (ABU DAWOOD). In other Hadith Prophet Mohammad PUBH described intoxicants as;
?The key to all evils
?The head of all errors and lapses
?The most terrible and major signs
?The mother of all evils
So dear citizens it is my humble request to all that please leave the drug abuse and aware the people about the consequences and causes of drug abuse and protect the young generation of our valley before it is too late
(The writer is a Ph.D. research scholar at School of Studies in Botany, Jiwaji University Gwalior. Feedback at:[email protected])
