Lahore: A dangerously high surge in drug abuse has been reported in the provincial capital according to the Drug Advisory Training Hub, an anti-narcotics institution.
Consultant for the Anti-Narcotics Campaign, Syed Zulfiqar Hussain disclosed that in the past year, the use of narcotics reached alarming levels with 560 unidentified individuals in the city succumbing to the grip of drugs. Shockingly 60% of drug transactions among the youth were conducted through social media.
The report indicates a 40% increase in the use of methamphetamine (ice) among the youth. Furthermore 40% of individuals addicted to injection drugs were found to be HIV-positive contributing to a 20% rise in cases of drug-related robberies in the city. Disturbingly over 6,000 women in the city sought divorce due to the addiction and violence of their husbands.
The report highlights a pressing need for immediate treatment for the 25 to 30 thousand drug addicts in Lahore. However there is a lamentable absence of a dedicated hospital for the rehabilitation of drug addicts in the city despite the urgency of the situation.
