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Our Correspondent
Kohima, Sep. 29 (EMN): Sensing the rampant use of an adulterated heroin called ‘sunflower’ by youngsters in the society today, the youth department of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) youth department organised a panel discussion on ‘sunflower drug and its effect on young people today’ in Kohima, on Thursday.
A senior medical officer at State Mental Institute, Kohima, Dr. Viketoulie Pienyu, observed that drug abuse was a big problem back in the 1990s.
“It was the biggest social menace in the society those days. Almost one in every two or three families was affected with drug abuse in Kohima village causing a lot of harms like crime, thefts, getting jailed, being shot by undergrounds etc,” Dr. Pienyu said.
He stated that a slight decline was witnessed in the early part of the 2000. He, however, stated that it came back in a “big way in the present decade in a much more serious and griever form.” According to him, ‘Sunflower’ is a street name of an adulterated heroin.
While the pure heroin is costly, the ones available in the street cost around INR 3000 to 4000 for 1 gram, he informed.
The senior medical officer said he had done a study as to why drug use is so high in Nagaland and Northeast. He has attributed to social acceptance, too much leisure time and lousy work culture, less recreational facilities, bad parenting, loose pocket money to children, peer pressure, unemployment issue and factors like stress, anxiety and worry. He added that a lot of substance abusers started at a young age of 12/13 years.
He suggested that the church could intervene through preventive activities adding it is the best way to solve the issue saying, “Prevention is the best medicine because once abuses, it is very difficult to come out. Many of them relapse after treatment.”
“It is very difficult to give up drugs and alcohol and therefore, one must understand the abusers and approach them in order to ease out the problems. Drug abuse constituted about 20 per cent of all the illness,” he added.
According to him, a lot of substance abusers are on self-denial and fear of disclosure because of the stigma and discrimination. He added that families do not have the courage to admit it.
NBCC youth secretary, N Suhuto Chishi, stated that the heroine (sunflower) is ‘rampantly’ available particularly among school and college students which is doing more harm than good.
“We cannot simply stand and watch youngsters get drowning in this. We have to do something before it escalates to a greater proportion,” he said.
Manager of Kripa Foundation, Vikholie, pointed out that ‘sunflower’ has become so rampant. He has attributed to high cost of heroine and prevalence of porous Indo-Myanmar border.