We, as a nation, are
estimated to have consumed 20 tonnes of heroin at a street price of $ 400 million during a period of just one year according to a report titled ‘The global Afghan opium trade: a threat assessment’, released recently by the UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Undeniably, Pakistan has been badly exposed to the negative consequences of drug trafficking since the 1980s due to its peculiar geographical location, as about 40 percent of the total opium and heroin produced in Afghanistan is transited through Pakistan. About five years ago, UNODC, in its national assessment report on drug abuse, estimated the number of drug users at 628,000, out of which around 482,000 (77 percent) were heroin users.
The number of drug users has gone up to a staggering 4.5 million according to the current estimates of the Pakistan Narcotics Control Board and World Health Organisation (WHO). Added to this, the number of injecting drug users (IDUs) is persistently on the rise. IDUs have become a major cause of concern due to the potential of HIV/AIDS risk they carry with them. The abnormal rise in the number of drug users shows that either we lack seriousness and will to tackle the problem of drug addiction or the approach adopted by us is faulty and impotent.
Drug addiction is exacting a heavy toll on us economically as well as socially. Hefty budget allocations for the criminal justice system (e.g. police, ANF, drug courts, prisons, etc), reduced productivity (of labour and in turn of the economy) and resources utilised in the illegal trade of drugs have all increased the economic toll. The costs of drug addiction can broadly be divided into three categories. The first category is that of private costs, i.e. costs borne by the individuals for the treatment of drug addiction, which include: forgone earnings while hospitalised for treatment, travelling expenses and other out of pocket expenses for visiting treatment facilities. The second category of costs is associated with the running of the programme for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts, i.e. costs associated with the medical care of the persons addicted to drugs.
The third category of costs is social costs. The chaotic lifestyle of drug addicts not only reduces their own quality of life but also that of their friends and family. Perhaps, it would be difficult for many of us to imagine the pain and grief of the near and dear ones of a drug addict. Social costs also include other intangibles like social exclusion and the violation of human rights and dignity. Instances of human rights abuses in the case of drug addicts, especially IDUs, both by state and non-state actors, have been documented in various articles and reports. All types of harassment such as verbal, physical and sexual are very common in the case of drug addicts, such reports point out.
If the problem of drug addiction is tackled effectively through a comprehensive strategy, the benefits that may accrue for the economy and society will be enormous. Savings will be generated on account of resources spent on the criminal justice system and resources released from criminal activity. Benefits will accrue both on private and social accounts. Private benefits may include benefits on account of deaths averted and enhanced productivity due to avoidance of disease. Private benefits will also accrue for people other than drug addicts. For example, it is now well documented that IDUs are becoming a major cause of sexually transmitted diseases. Furthermore, the chances of contracting hepatitis are also high due to the shared use of syringes among drug addicts.
One of the social benefits that will accrue for society will include reduced public expenditures on the criminal justice system. Our prisons are overcrowded and drug abusers constitute a substantial portion of the prison population. Reduction in the number of drug addicts will reduce the burden on courts, prisons and the administration of justice. Benefits will also accrue due to the reduced sufferings of the victims and their families, and through better life chances for drug addicts due to their participation in social life.
In order to rehabilitate drug addicts, the first step we need to take is the sensitisation of the police and criminal courts. Currently, law enforcing agencies and courts treat drug addicts like criminals and not as patients. It is a matter of common observation that the police pick up drug addicts en masse, herd them into prison cells, maltreat them, fleece their families and lodge criminal cases against them to show their performance. It is also an open secret that drug addicts incarcerated in prisons have easy access to drugs in prison as well. Only the cost of getting it goes higher. It is therefore required that the criminal justice courts divert addicts away from the criminal justice system and instead towards their treatment and rehabilitation. The court-mandated treatment should be an essential part of the administration of justice to drug addicts.
Drug addicts need our attention and should be treated with sympathy without compromising on human dignity and honour. Public policy should be geared towards establishing and expanding rehabilitation centres for heroin addicts rather than funnelling public funds towards prisons for housing them. Some non-governmental organisations (like Nai Zindgi) have done impressive work for the rehabilitation of drug addicts. Public sector hospitals and treatment centres can learn from their experience.
We need to take urgent steps for the treatment and rehabilitation of chronic drug/heroin addicts as it will reduce the economic and social burden imposed on society. Drug addiction should be taken as a public health problem and not as a criminal justice issue. The criminal justice system (CJS) should aim at the rehabilitation of addicts. They should be brought into the mainstream of society through rehabilitation. At the same time, it is also required that society be sensitised to treat them as patients and not criminals. This calls for a paradigm shift in our approach to tackling the problem of drug addiction.
The writer is a graduate from Columbia University, USA in Economic Policy Management and studied economic governance in the UK. He can be reached at [email protected]