The country woke up to the shocking news of the admission of substance usage on campus in a tweet by Sanjeev Bhikshandani, the founder of Ashoka University.
As the drug epidemic continues to painstakingly seep into the country’s social and cultural aspects, drug abuse is naturally trickling into our India’s best campuses affecting the younger generation – a generation refusing to be left out.
Sanjeev's post, which soon caught the attention of netizens, stated "I am disappointed for instance that The Student Government has had little to say or do about the problem of substance abuse by students at Ashoka. I think it would add a lot of value to Ashoka if the Student Government were to focus on this and assist the University administration in its ongoing efforts to tackle this issue. From what I have heard this is a growing problem at Ashoka. I have heard stories of deliveries of drugs by drones and room delivery in the hostels. I hope these stories are apocryphal.”
While netizens were already aware of our country's drug problem, their outrage revealed that the drug abuse has been a long-standing problem in colleges and other prestigious campuses for years now and is nothing new.
According to an official of the Drug Abuse Information Rehabilitation & Research Centre, "Over 70% of the addicts at the DAIRRC in Fort are between the ages of 18 and 26. Most of them are college students, from degree, engineering, and management institutes.”
“These colleges are unaware of the intensity of drug abuse on campus. Starting from immense stress to peer pressure are the primary factors for drugs and alcohol abuse in these institutes,” he continued.
The Impact of Illicit Availability:
Recognizing that the substance abuse among school and college students has long been a severe concern, a global survey conducted by the National Library of Medicine in 2022, which included India, indicated that the number of youngsters engaging in drug abuse is higher in colleges than in schools. The underlying argument behind this is the newfound liberty that students get to experience after school.
In 2017, the IIT-Kanpur approached the district administration to address drug addiction issues on campus. The local mafias were supplying substances to hundreds of their college students. According to media reports, students have easy access to drugs at a tea stall near campus.
“It is very difficult to trace the students involved in drugs as they do not show clear symptoms every time,” says Suryanarayana Doolla, dean of student affairs at IIT Bombay.
Similarly, the availability of drugs in schools and colleges of Goa is very common. The abuse of cheap drugs like marijuana can often be traced among students. “Marijuana comes a lot cheaper as compared to other intoxicating substances and youth embrace it owing to its association with creativity and off-beat mood, " said a student from IIT Goa.
While some students cited stress owing to relationship breakdowns and academic pressure as a major reason, using substances, particularly smoking, is now "a part of college culture and the current trend."
Students said it is very easy to get hold of substances and can get them delivered "just like a pizza.”
Institutions trying to disrupt drug supply chain
With students increasingly falling prey to drugs, institutions are trying their best to break the supply chain and become active on campuses; they also believe that getting the right guidance from parents, teachers & counselors will ensure that youngsters stay on the straight and narrow.
“Addiction to drugs has been a problem in colleges for years now. As institutions, we require policies that strike a balance between punitive action, compassion, counseling, and education about healthy ways to deal with stress. Right parental advice is also important," says Doolla.
