Network for Peer led Drug and Alcohol Prevention

Prof. T K Thomas*     “ The odds of psychotic disorder among daily cannabis users were 3.2 times higher than for never users, whereas the odds among users of high-potency cannabis were 1.6 times higher than never users .” I had interactions with a large number of patients and recovering drug addicts during my association with one of the leading drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centers in Delhi. All of them were addicted to various substances and were multi drug users including alcohol, a legal drug in our country which actually is a depressant. While documenting their stories I found that in an overwhelming majority of cases their initiation into drugs started with what we call Ganja/ ‘Charas’ or marijuana, which at least a few experts consider as a “gateway” to addiction to more potent drugs. These substances known by different names have mood altering properties. Most of them tried or experimented with these drugs, deriv...

by   Suneel Vatsyayan Posted on May 16 '19, in  Alcohol's Harm To Others ,  IOGT ,  Obstacle To Development ,  Policy ,  Prevention ,  Recovery ,  Research ,  Sustainable Development Alcohol: major obstacle to development The situation of women’s safety here in Bihar was such that women would not step outside their homes beyond 6 pm. Alcohol fueled domestic violence had been accepted inside the homes to such an extent that there had been about 85 women in the village who committed suicide seeing no escape.” Ritu Jaiswal, a local politician in Bihar  explains how alcohol hinders sustainable development  in Bihar, India. Already many years before, in March 2013, Bihari women started protesting alcohol fueled harm in public. “Humari aabroo ki keemat pe sharab ka dhandha nahi chalega.” (The sale of liquor will not continue at the cost of our honour.) The chant echoed through Konar, a village near the town of Sasaram in Bih...

It All Starts With Drug-Free Childhood Prevention of Narcotic Drug problems means empowering children and giving them a fair chance of living the lives they dream of   On  World Drug Day , IOGT International stands with UNODC and its World Drug Campaign. “World Drug Day is a unique occasion to take a stand – together – against a problem that affects everyone. Illicit drugs threaten the health and welfare of people worldwide,” says Mr. Esbjörn Hörnberg, Executive Director of  IOGT International , the largest global non-governmental organization with members promoting a lifestyle free from alcohol and other drugs. Up to 200,000 people die every year  due to Narcotic drugs. Narcotic drugs do not just affect the user. They cause tremendous hardship and misery to children, families, communities and societies. Narcotic drugs undermine close relationships, and can ruin education and employment opportunities. Narcotic drug use and trafficking are not only a burden o...

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Rising consumerism poses challenges Category:   Development ,  Family ,  Freedom ,  Marketing ,  Poverty ,  Prevention ,  Social costs Email Share on Twitter Share on Facebook “I deserve to be different from others . I belong to the new consuming class  because I worked for it. I earned it .  This is a better way to prove my social mobility by having a right (still limited right as per income ) to consume,” says Anil, 30 year old from  Delhi NCR Gurgoan  who working in a Multi National Company. The new class, consuming class, is found among the traditional middle class in India, especially in metropolitan cities.  This is really a market driven new identity  which is built on a happy or unhappy past. People would like to keep this consuming class identity as a sign of success. In a recent  Hindustan Times news paper  article with the headline “The many classes  in the middle” the  writer Rama Bijapur...