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4 kg of heroin a day for 45,000 users: Report
One in every 257 Sri Lankan was arrested for drug related offences last year, reveals a report containing shocking statistics which stress the need for more far-reaching measures to check the disturbing situation.
The Dangerous Drug Control Board’s 2016 report reveals that last year, 79,378 suspects were arrested for narcotic drug related offences, a majority of them — 47 percent — from the Western Province, the country’s most populous region. Sixty percent of the suspects were charged with cannabis-related offences and 35 percent with heroin-related offences.
Based on a supply and demand analysis, the report says Sri Lanka has an estimated 200,000 cannabis users and 45,000 heroin users.
The annual supply of heroin in Sri Lanka, according to the study, is around 1,478 kilograms or four kilograms a day which could serve up to 45,000 drug dependents.
However, despite the alarming figures, the number of persons seeking help to shirk the habit is dismal. Last year, according to the DDCB report, 2,355 drug users, among them 34 women, enrolled for rehabilitation in state and non-state sector institutions.
The number of drug users rehabilitated by NGOs last year stood at 474. Of them, 181 users were rehabilitated by Sumithrayo, the country’s first crisis-response centre established in 1974 to reach out to people with suicidal tendencies.
Twelve years after, Mel Medura was started under the Sumithrayo Drug Demand Reduction Programme, when studies indicated that more than 30 percent of suicides were connected to alcohol and drug addiction.
Director Jomo Uduman lamented, however, that only a few people were making use of the facility.
This he attributes to a lack of awareness among addicts, their family members and friends of rehabilitation programmes and the availability of facilities.
Mel Medura, a day care facility, seeks to rehabilitate alcohol, heroin, tobacco and cannabis users. It also rehabilitates those who use other addictive substances such as ecstasy pills, crystal meth and cocaine.
Addiction to social networking and pornography have also become an emerging problem that requires rehabilitation, Mr. Uduman said
Despite awareness programmes and high level of literacy, schoolchildren and youth continue to become addictive to the traditional betel with its deadly combination of tobacco, areca nut and slaked lime. They also become addictive to products such as Babul, Beda, Marwa and Haan, — betel-based products that contain a mixture of sweeteners, spices, and additives.
Mr. Uduman said many people were driven to drugs by disruptive social forces such as poverty, unemployment, violence, abuse and family problems.
Of the people who sought addiction treatment at Mel Medura last year, 99 percent were males. The one percent females who sought help were from the hotel sector and their addiction related to alcohol and smoking.
Disturbingly, 55 percent were youth in the age group 21-40, and a majority of them were married men.
They were into alcohol, tobacco, heroin and cannabis. A small number (8 percent) were into psychotropic and pharmaceutical substances.
The reasons for getting into drugs were wide and varied and mostly centered on unhealthy feelings, curiosity and social reasons. Peer pressure, ostracising and permissive family attitudes also have contributed to youth taking drugs.
Drinks being served liberally at family functions is another contributory factor for youth to take to alcohol easily. Statistics show drug users spend from Rs. 500 upto Rs. 5,000 for their daily dosage.
Nearly half of the drug users belonged to the lower economic strata.
Last year, only 455 people visited Mel Medura. Of them, 180 were addicts. Others visited the centre to obtain information related to rehabilitation.
A majority of the visitors were from the Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Matara and Kandy districts.
Mel Medura officials say their effort to bring in more people for treatment have borne fruit. They publish regular advertisements in the media and say they have noticed a gradual increase in the number of visitors and callers seeking information in recent times.
| Mel Medura: Friendly approach to rehabilitation | |
| The Mel Medura service is free! Caller contacts happen and evolve in the following ways. A telephone call from a family member seeking information. Mel Medura officials say a majority of contacts are ambivalent and expect instant or magical cures. Mel Medura, instead, offers to work together with users to change their lifestyles (through social support systems and activities) so that the road to recovery becomes more rewarding than alcohol or drug use. Users and their family members are welcomed and made comfortable with a cup of tea. If the keyworker is convinced that detoxification (and a medically managed withdrawal) is necessary first, then a letter is issued to a state hospital, requesting that the caller be admitted for detox. After detoxification, the user is required to return to the centre with a letter from the hospital. “As a rule and to avoid conflict we do not issue letters to private hospitals (where detox is also possible). But callers are directed to them if they prefer this option,” an official said. When the caller is ready the Mel Medura keyworker will begin the befriending process. The keyworker bonds with the substance user in a relaxed and friendly setting and gently ascertains the type of user profile the person under rehabilitation would fit into. The profiles are categorised as Over-User, Dangerous User, Harmful User and Dependent User. What type of changes is the user willing to explore with Mel Medura? What do you want to change? Why do you want to change? Readiness to change? The keyworker conveys realistic expectations without too much optimism or hope, and makes sure the user understands what he can expect from the service (and what he cannot). After obtaining the user’s personal details, the keyworker discusses details such as type of substance used, duration of use, reasons for wanting to stop and for wanting to first use it, whether any member of his family has or is using any substance, his feelings and behaviour after use, whether he has ever tried to stop before, if yes for how long, his relationships with wife/children/parents/siblings/friends, how he manages his time and finances, sexual feelings, suicidal thoughts and attempts (if any). |