Scourge of drug abuse

The worries aired at a meeting of the cabinet committee on law and order at the Home Ministry on February 12 over the country's drug abuse situation and the actions mulled are hardly new. Its pervasiveness has crossed all previous limits. The government has taken several initiatives: making public the list of all drug dealers and increasing people's awareness of the scourge. The meeting held at the Home Ministry highlighted the arrests of drug peddlers made between 2013 and now. It noted that cases had been lodged against 860 persons on the basis of a list of drug dealers and godfathers sent from the Prime Minister's Office. Of them 188 are said to be behind bars.

The recent back-to-back seizure of bulk of drug consignments in the vulnerable areas by police and RAB personnel points to the inroad the substance has made. The cities, including capital Dhaka, have long been under its spell. In fact, the whole country has now been made a kind of safe haven for drug abusers and dealers. That the vicious network of drug trade is being run by syndicates comprising local honchos backed by their untouchable bosses is no secret. With the situation deteriorating fast, the higher authorities have been made to admit that the scourge of drug abuse is the biggest challenge following their "tackling of militancy and law and order slide".

The fact that the tentacles of synthetic drugs have spread their reach into unlikely segments of society portends an ominous consequence for the nation's future. Normally teenagers and youths have been considered drug addicts. Lately media reports are categorical that adults are also hooked on drugs. When the Ministry of Home detects a section of staff and officials at sensitive government offices and educational institutions as being taken to drugs, it deals a severe blow to the vision of a strong and resourceful nation. Few revelations could be more distressing. A kind of incredulity overtakes society when the relevant ministry is made to arrange 'dope tests' for otherwise successful candidates about to enter government services. Appallingly, the screenings have detected a number of would-be officials as being dope takers. Allegations are rife against many in-service field-level government officials.

The number of drug addicts in the country is now rising fast. A horrifying aspect of the drug menace relates to the involvement of a section of allegedly drug-addict government officials in sensitive positions in the drug trade. The relevant authorities have taken action against many of them. A lot of others remain beyond the dragnet. By all evidences, the scourge of drug abuse now poses a formidable challenge to the nation's future. Its multi-faceted impacts on society have long been felt. The menace has begun eating into the very vitals of the nation. All this warrants effective and targeted actions before it is too late.