Death scare: Families throng rehab centres
: The sharp uptick in deaths in Punjab due to drug overdose has created panic among families with drug dependents. As the state government fumbles on numbers, media reports say 23 lives have been lost in June alone, one a day. What’s worse, it’s getting them young.
Rajat Sood, a reformed heroin dependent who runs New Life Rehab and Counselling Society in Phillaur, says his centre with 40 beds has full occupancy since the last fortnight. “Normally, we have 25 inmates. But now, 16 more are on the waiting list. The families of those injecting heroin are terrified, mainly after videos on deaths went viral,” he says.
A 42-year-old government employee from Moga, who enrolled at a de-addiction centre in Ludhiana on Wednesday after falling unconscious last week, says, “I have good income and could afford to sniff ‘chitta’ (‘white’, term for drugs like heroin). It cost me up to ₹35,000 a month. Four months back, I switched to injection for instant kick. But my wife forced me to undergo treatment after recent spate of deaths.”
Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who set up a special task force (STF) to eliminate the menace as part of his poll promise, credits his government for choking supply. But that did not factor in social and human costs.
“Lesser availability pushes patients to injection abuse. Then, instead of inhaling fumes, they inject the drug to increase the effect. This can result in overdose and death,” says Dr Satyen Sharma, president, Indian Association of Private Psychiatry, Punjab and Chandigarh branch. Dr Rajeev Gupta, who runs a de-addiction clinic in Ludhiana, agrees: “You will not find firsttime intravenous users. They switch to injections only when costs are high.”
ALL THAT’S ‘CHITTA’
Behind the spurt in deaths is not just injections but also cocktails. From talcum powder, salt to powdered sleeping pills and painkillers, anything white can go into making ‘chitta’. “Even talcum powder and salt can be dangerous when injected as it goes directly into the bloodstream and can cause clots. The syringes are not sterilised. Some get gangrene due to frequent injections and have to lose their arms,” Dr Gupta adds.
Dr Satish Thapar, former nodal officer of the Punjab mental health and de-addiction programme, says that if injected directly, a concoction can cause fatal allergic reaction and lead to sudden death. “Immunity of intravenous drug users too keeps going down,” he says. “Each death should count. Since families call it heart failure, no postmortem is done. There is robust government and private infrastructure for de-addiction and rehab, but government has no data on addicts or follow-up.”
However, Dr Gupta contends that Punjab’s is not an isolated case. “Overdose deaths are on the rise even in countries like the US. Nearly 63,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2016 — 21.5% increase over 2015.”
ON DEATH PENALTY
The state cabinet has decided to ask the Centre to amend the NDPS Act to allow death penalty at first instance of conviction. Citing research, Dr Sharma argues that capital punishment has not proved as a deterrent. “Government should look into both aspects — control supply and monitor treatment,” he says.
While the government seems to be on the defensive, health minister Brahm Mohindra is not willing to relate the deaths with drugs. “Only a post-mortem and investigation can conclude that,” he says, pointing out the spike in the number of outpatient (OPD) visitors by 30% as compared to 2016 after Congress took over. “Supply squeeze is bringing more people to treatment centres.”
The previous government had claimed 2.5 lakh people underwent de-addiction in two months in a similar crackdown launched after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The notoriety cost it the next election. Now the same ghost has come to haunt the Congress government before it faces the 2019 parliamentary polls.
EXPERTS SAY CHOKING DRUG SUPPLY LINES IS PUSHING ADDICTS TOWARDS INJECTION ABUSE, OVERDOSE