Drug Addiction in Bangladesh Part-III

Hospital surveys show that average age of drug addicts is 22. The addicts are students, professionals, businessmen, laborers, rickshawallahs and from other professions.

The Danger of Addiction

Drug addiction beings on rapid erosion of educational and cultural, moral and family values. The addicts lose their professional and educational capabilities, self-dignity, and get involved in serious or petty criminal activities. The sole aim in life of an addict becomes the procurement and use of drugs. Other aims and objectives in life are thrown by the roadside. Besides, dread diseases such as Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS can easily attack drug addicts through use of injectible drugs. In our country, heroin is mostly smoked within aluminum foil or cigarette paper, but in other countries this is injected. Intravenous injection of pethidine/ morphine and now tadigesic brand of riknomar penic. These are extremely dangerous drugs and increases addiction manifold. Injections through infected needles can cause diseases of the liver, brain, heart, lungs and spinal cord. Normal medication also interacts with heroin and cause many complications, which many addicts do now know about. Such interactions may also cause e death. Heroin addiction lowers mental enthusiasm and efforts and physical ability The addict loses contact with normal society and becomes self and drug-centered. He engages in all types of activities to obtain money to buy drugs. A Heroin addict may need about Taka 500 worth of the drug a day. He neglects the needs of the family, and those are non-earning may sell off family assets. They also go out on the streets for mugging and dacoity Time is ripe for leaders at the highest level to wake up to the danger posed to healthy existence of society as more and more new addicts join the ranks of the hardcore ones. This slide must be arrested at all costs. The Drugs and Narcotics Department was created nearly two decades ago, especially to counter the production and availability of addictive drugs. But it has done little over the years to attain its given objectives. The corruption, allegedly, runs high in it.

Manufacture

Bangladesh is not believed to manufacture any narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances illicitly. It also does not manufacture any precursor chemicals except hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid.

Drugs are separated into two categories

Soft drugs

1. Alcohol; 2. Cigarettes; 3. Marijuana; 4. Glue, Hash etc.

Hard drugs

1. Ecstasy; 2. Speed; 3. Amphetamine; 4. Cocaine;