Are we raising a lost generation?

How drug abuse is stealing the future of our youth

The youth of the country is considered as the most crucial segment of human capital, a driving force behind every nation’s economic growth, innovation, and social progress. Yet, across the globe an alarming number of young individuals are found indulging in substance abuse. The age of glory, times when dreams are formed, talents are discovered, personalities are shaped, are turned into the dark and neglected years of life. Today we witness a number of digital and physical campaigns spreading awareness against drug abuse. Young people are aware of the adverse consequences of drug addiction. They know it abruptly affects their mental and physical health, but they still consume this slow poison. 

 It is evident that this issue is beyond complex, #SAYNOTODRUGS awareness campaigns seem to be ineffective in recent times. For taking impactful measures and productive outcomes, we need to evaluate the root cause behind why people get into such things and how this addiction cycle works. Drug abuse in the youth has become a global pandemic and no longer confined to any single country, region, or socio-economic group. From developed economies to lower and middle-income nations, the misuse of narcotics and psychotropic substances has become the pressing concern. According to The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNDOC) an estimated 6.7 to 7.6 million people across Pakistan, which is roughly around 6 percent of the total population, use drugs.

 Why do an individual get into substance abuse? Answers are linked with different possibilities, some get into this out of curiosity just for exploring and adventure. Some were introduced by their friends; due to peer pressure they induced into such practices and later on became habituated. While mental health crises diminished emotional state, factors such as unemployment, poverty, social exclusion, academic pressure and easy access to drugs through online and physical platforms, have collectively contributed to this growing inclination towards drugs. 

Pakistan has seen a rise in the online sale of narcotics, with digital transactions making access much easier and young people are being manipulated, not just consuming. One prominent case involves a dealer known as Anmol alias "Pinky," alleged to have sold cocaine in colleges, universities, schools and in the posh gatherings in Karachi.

Substance abuse including heroin, opioids, marijuana, cannabis, cocaine and prescription drugs including sedatives and tranquillizers are commonly traded and consumed.  For understanding drug addiction, we need to unfold how this pathway works. The brain has a built-in system for reinforcing behaviours that are good for survival such as regularly exercising, eating your favorite food, spending time with loved ones, and pursuing hobbies and achievements, by releasing dopamine when engaging in these activities that generates the sense of fulfilment and joy. Normally dopamine rises adequately in response to these natural rewards, reinforcing the behaviour just enough to make you repeat them. 

Authorities should make sure to protect campus vicinities. They must expand rehabilitation centres, regulate private treatment facilities, train counsellors, update national data, monitor online drug markets and invest in youth recreation, education and employment. The fight against drugs can never be overcome by one ministry, one force, or one province. Instead, it requires a coordinated approach to reform schools, colleges, universities, health departments, law enforcement, religious institutions, media intervention and communities working together.

However, addictive substances hijack this system circuit. These substances; such as heroin and cocaine, can spike dopamine to several times higher than the natural baseline. Neuroscientists describe this as a shift from the brain reward system to its stress taking over system. That means the person is now not taking it to feel good anymore but to feel normal or stop feeling terrible. In the long term, a person gets resistant to the drugs, and the same amount is not enough to give the same spike. This is how addiction becomes more severe and people in its grip often describe feeling emotionally drained or joyless without the dosage.

In recent years, drug addiction has increased to an alarming level and has become a pressing concern. In Pakistan, the most vulnerable demographic for drug initiation is the 16 to 25 age bracket while 71.5 percent of the drug abusers are less than 35 years old. These are majorly students: a survey of 2024 cited at Karachi University shows 44 percent of university and college students admitted to drug use, 53 percent males and 31 percent of females, with the growing trend of online procurement.

The growing numbers are contrasting against functioning public rehab centres, trained addiction psychiatrists, or provincial mental health budgets; the mean age of individuals admitted to rehabilitation centers in Pakistan is 28.5 years. The most vulnerable victims are students inside schools, colleges and universities. Campuses are often discussed only when a scandal is exposed. News makes headlines, the system panics, institutions and authorities promise strict action. Then silence returns. 

Drug abuse is not an isolated issue however, it triggers other social evils. Crime is another consequence of drug abuse. Addicted people need money to buy drugs, and when they cannot get it through legal means they turn to theft, street snatching, smuggling, and get involved in other heinous crimes. Moreover, drug abusers are at risk of getting affected to infectious diseases such as; HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C. As per the research; 35 percent began using drugs in adolescence and 46 percent were diagnosed with comorbid depression, and following this suicide has emerged as another leading cause of death among Pakistanis under 30.

Addressing the problem is not the same as solving it. If a student is experimenting with drugs due to peer pressure, anxiety, depression, loneliness or academic stress, simple punishment may drive the problem underground. It is important to figure out the high risk groups in universities, colleges and schools, normalize mental health concerns and establish confidential counselling systems, trained mental health professionals, peer-support programs and clear referral pathways to rehabilitation services. 

A smarter anti-drug strategy must design separate three categories: traffickers, high-risk suppliers and dependent users. Traffickers require investigation, prosecution, and legal action against trafficking. Suppliers targeting campuses and youth spaces require strict enforcement. However the dependent users require treatment, family support, and rehabilitation. When all three are problems treated with strict law and order eventually the supply chain would get disrupted and weak.

Treatment needs to educate parents in breaking stereotypes and moral policing. Many parents usually ignore early warning signs: sudden behavioural changes, withdrawal, unexplained expenses, sleep disruption, poor academic performance, secrecy, new peer groups. Parents must learn counseling without humiliating their children. For a drug-free Pakistan we need a national promise.

Authorities should make sure to protect campus vicinities. They must expand rehabilitation centres, regulate private treatment facilities, train counsellors, update national data, monitor online drug markets and invest in youth recreation, education and employment. The fight against drugs can never be overcome by one ministry, one force, or one province. Instead, it requires a coordinated approach to reform schools, colleges, universities, health departments, law enforcement, religious institutions, media intervention and communities working together.

Above all, it requires honesty. Pakistan’s youth is often called the country’s future. If we continue to treat addiction only after it destroys lives, we will keep losing young people to a crisis we saw coming but refused to treat seriously.