Parents beware! There could be suspicious individuals lurking outside your children’s schools who may actually be drug dealers, looking to convert these youngsters into possible consumers of banned substances.
Police in Bengaluru have seen a steep rise in the consumption of drugs, especially by young school children and college students and have been conducting drives to create awareness among teachers, parents, and the children themselves.
There are a number of factors that contribute to drug use among young people, including peer pressure, curiosity, and mental health issues. Drug dealers often target young people because they are more vulnerable to addiction.
Rise in Consumption Among Kids, Say Cops
Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda told News18 in an exclusive interview that while they have been cracking down on drug peddlers and their supply chain, they have also observed a sharp rise in seizures, indicating a spike in consumption.
“The number of arrests have also increased. Our police department has been creating awareness among schoolchildren and college-going students. We have noted that the usage of illegal drugs has begun spreading among children and there has been a significant increase in the numbers,” he said.
He explained that while shops selling tobacco are banned within 100 meters of educational institutions, they still find that drugs like cannabis somehow find their way into the hands of these young children and young adults (between the ages of 18-25).
“In some of our raids, we have found that cannabis is being sold near educational institutions. We are booking cases and also making the institutions’ management aware of such suspicious activities. Cannabis is usually sold in the form of cigarettes and we have seen youngsters getting attracted to such drugs,” he said.
Dayananda emphasised that the aim of the police is not to stigmatise or alienate drug users, but to help them get unhooked. “Our approach is such that it is not ‘us versus drug users’, but ‘us versus drug lords’,” the city police commissioner said.
Mangaluru Seizure
A recent incident in Mangaluru, where two shopkeepers were found selling chocolates laced with ganja, highlights the issue. The police team found a combined total of 120 kilograms of the laced chocolates.
But how did this get detected? Parents found that their children were constantly demanding a special chocolate named ‘Bang’ which was priced at Rs 20 per piece.
Sudden behavioural changes in the children and the need to eat those chocolates at regular intervals raised a red flag. A group of parents then approached the Mangaluru Police which resulted in the raids and the recovery.
Addicted or Not? How to Detect
How do you determine whether a person is showing signs of addiction? Doctors say parents need to look out for abrupt changes in the child’s behaviour, mood swings, increased anger, increased secretiveness, and a sudden decline in school grades.
Dr Jayant Mahadevan, a de-addiction specialist and assistant professor at the Centre for Addiction Medicine, NIMHANS, says that they have been seeing an uptick in certain substances, particularly among young adults.
“Some of the drugs like opioids, injecting drug use, and some of the party drugs like MDMA and amphetamine are on the rise,” he said.
He points out that their de-addiction center has not seen a huge increase in cases among young school children, but that it may take parents much longer to bring their children to the hospital.
“The first signals are usually picked up by people who are closer to the community and they come into hospitals only when the people develop significant issues related to it. That may be the reason why we have not seen an increase in cases at NIMHANS yet,” Dr Jayant told News18.
The de-addiction specialist said NIMHANS has been seeing an increase in patients who were over-using a drug called Tapentadol or Tidol.
“It is a pharmaceutical opioid that is often used by young people, especially those studying in high school or pre-university. Cannabis has been around and we have not noticed any sudden increase in cases of late,” Dr Jayant said.
Where’s the party, tonight?
Let’s shift focus to adult users as well. The Bengaluru police commissioner said the city being a global destination with several educational institutions, multinational and IT companies sees not only changing lifestyles but an increased consumption of party drugs like MDMA, Ecstasy, Yaba, Amphetamine, and Methaqualone.
“We are actively tracking their procurement and suppliers to ensure we nip them in the bud. But for this, we would need people’s participation to help trace the drug suppliers and their network,” appealed Dayananda.
333% Spike in Value of Seizures in 3 Years
According to government data accessed by News18, the consumption of synthetic drugs has seen a sharp increase, and the value of the seizure of drugs has increased by a whopping 333 per cent between 2020 and 2023.
The value of drugs has also seen a sharp increase, from around Rs 21 crore (exact figure: Rs 21,38,56,550) in 2022 to Rs 93 crore (exact figure: Rs 92,70,84,840) in 2023.
This is attributed to the increase in consumption of high-value drugs such as MDMA, Ecstasy, and Amphetamine. In Bengaluru, the quantum of MDMA seized jumped from 2.571 kg in 2020 to 12.266 kg in 2023, with an estimated market value of over Rs 12 crore.
During the same period, the quantity of cocaine seized decreased from 1.91 kg in 2020 to 3.038 kg in 2023. However, the market value of the seized cocaine saw a sharp spike, from Rs 25 lakh in 2020 to over Rs 3 crore in 2023 and Rs 3.51 crore in the first half of 2023, according to data from the Bengaluru city police.
Seizures of non-synthetic drugs such as marijuana have increased marginally, but the value of these products has seen an increase. In 2020, 3870.911 kg of marijuana was seized, with a value of over Rs 17.35 crore. In 2023, 4060.192 kg of marijuana was seized, with a value of over Rs 17.35 crore.
The police say that they have made a concerted and relentless effort to crack down on drug trafficking, but the flow of banned substances remains a problem. With the availability of options such as buying drugs on the dark web and other incognito platforms, it is a challenge to police the free flow of drugs. However, law enforcement has been able to seize large quantities of drugs that would otherwise have been distributed to youngsters.
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