Measures for Rehabilitatng Drug Abusers and Alcoholics (A Study Conducted in Haldwani, Uttarakhand)

In the fast changing scenario of the world, youths especially students of the youthful age are considered to be future assets of the family and the nation at large. These youngsters can contribute a lot for the welfare and the advancement of the family or nation in a truly global sense only if their energies and potentialities are channelized in the most appropriate and desired manner. On the contrary, if they indulge in undesirable activities like drug abuse and alcoholism, which has become the most prevalent social evil in the present times, they can never utilize their potential and energies for self growth, family welfare as well as welfare and development of the nation. The prevalence of an alarming growth rate of drug abuse and alcoholism warrants us to take preventive steps for proper utilization of human resources. Alcoholism has a higher prevalence among men, though in recent decades, the proportion of female alcoholics has increased. Current evidence indicates that in both men and women, alcoholism is 5060 percent genetically determined, leaving 4050 percent for environmental influences. Most alcoholics develop alcoholism during adolescence or young adulthood. The various health problems associated with long-term alcohol consumption are generally perceived as detrimental to society, for example, money due to lost labour-hours, medical costs, and secondary treatment costs. Alcohol use is a major contributing factor for head injuries, motor vehicle accidents, violence, and assaults. Beyond money, there are also significant social costs to both the alcoholic and their family and friends. For instance, alcohol consumption by a pregnant woman can lead to foetal alcohol syndrome, incurable and damaging condition. A complex mixture of genetic and environmental factors influences the risk of the development of alcoholism. Genes which influence the metabolism of alcohol also influence the risk of alcoholism, and may be indicated by a family history of alcoholism. One paper has found that alcohol use at an early age may influence the expression of genes which increase the risk of alcohol dependence. Individual who have a genetic disposition to alcoholism are also more likely to begin drinking at an earlier age than average. Also, a younger age of onset of drinking is associated with an increased risk of the development of alcoholism, and about 40 percent of alcoholics will drink excessively by their late adolescence. Severe childhood trauma is also associated with a general increase in the risk of drug dependency. Lack of peer and family support is associated with an increased risk of alcoholism developing. Genetics and adolescence are associated with an increased sensitivity to the neurotoxin effects of chronic alcohol abuse. Cortical degeneration due to the neurotoxin effects increases impulsive behaviour, which may contribute to the development, persistence and severity of alcohol use disorders. There is evidence that with abstinence, there is a reversal of at least some of the alcohol induced central nervous system damage. A lot of research has been conducted by socialist like Donal Howard, he determined drinking behaviour by interactions of psychological and cultural variables and primary function of alcohol to reduce anxiety and Richard Jessor and other (1963) established a relationship between alcoholism and peaks of anomie. Not much has been done in the field of alcoholism and the factors leading them to this act. A lot of people due to family pressure, cultural issues, isolation, stress, anxiety indulge into alcohol to suppress their feelings. . This is usually encountered in upper class, upper middle as a status symbol or a stress buster. Thus, the spread and entrenchment of drug abuse and alcoholism needs to be prevented, as the cost to the people, environment and economy will be colossal. The unseemly spectacle of unkempt drug abusers dotting lanes and by lanes, cinema halls and other public places should be enough to goad the authorities to act fast to remove the scourge of this social evil. Moreover, the spread of such reprehensible habits among the relatively young segment of society ought to be arrested at all cost. There is a need for the government enforcement agencies, the non-governmental philanthropic agencies, and others to collaborate and supplement each other & #039, s efforts for a solution to the problem of drug abuse and alcoholism through education and legal actions. The present study thus focuses on the magnitude of the problem, causes leading to alcoholism and various rehabilitation techniques undertaken by the NGOs in Haldwani, Uttarakhand.