Pubdate: Thu, 23 Jul 2003
Source: Times of India, The (India)
Copyright: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 2003
Contact:  http://www.timesofindia.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/453
Author: G Babu Jayakumar, Chennai
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

NARCOTIC TOFFEES COULD BE A GATEWAY DRUG FOR ADDICTION

Till a narcotic toffee racket was swooped on and a couple of huge
hauls of the drug consignments were made, not many knew of the
existence of a 'high' terrain in the city landscape where munching the
sugar-coated psychoactive substance was commonplace. Now that the
curtains have been yanked off, the questions being raised are: How bad
are those dope toffees? Can they lead to dependence?

Even those working in areas of addiction concerns and rehabilitation
in the city seem to have little insight into this particular
toffee-chewing habit, which, it is learnt from police, is gaining in
popularity among some groups of college students and has veterans in
the Sowcarpet region. However, that the seized toffees contained Tetra
hydro cannabinol (THC) is enough to ring the alarm bells.

Just because de-addiction centres have no record of treating people
hooked to the toffees, one cannot straight-away call it innocuous,
feels Dr Suresh Kumar, a city-based psychiatrist who has wide
experience in treating different types of drug addicts during the past
two decades.

THC, the euphoria-causing ingredient, is a derivative of cannabis,
popularly known as ganja and hence eating the toffees will take one to
a 'high', albeit at a milder level, that smoking 'grass' or hashish
give. Besides, the narcotic toffees could serve as a gateway drug,
leading the user to try out with hardcore mind-altering substances
like heroin or brown sugar and even the latest one on the block -
'ecstasy', which the generation X of this cyber era passionately calls
as 'drug - e'.

Not all those who wrecked their lives and careers in the 1990s with
mainlining, chasing and smoking 'smack' or brown sugar, which in fact
is a crude form of heroin, besides some pharmaceutical drugs, started
on them straight away. They all graduated from ganja or alcohol, says
Dr Suresh Kumar.

So an adolescent biting into the narcotic toffee could be,
willy-nilly, setting foot into the dreary domain of drug addiction.
For there are no indicators to suggest who would become an addict or
an alcoholic. Among those who experiment with drugs, some develop
dependence in due course and many do not, while those who refrain from
trying them out never become an addict.

This being the norm, narcotic toffees are no laughing matter, despite
the low content of THC in them. Besides, the fact that there is a bid
to camouflage an addictive substance in the form of toffees indicates
a marketing scheme, aimed at trying to hook users. Even if 10 per cent
of those tasting the toffees go back to it for the high it brings in
its wake, it could cause widespread harm to society, fears Dr Suresh
Kumar.

Explaining the pattern in which casual experimentations with soft
drugs escalate into serious substance-dependence situations, Dr Suresh
Kumar, now a consultant for many global NGOs working in issues of
addiction concerns, says the euphoria caused by a particular substance
makes the user go back to it once again.

Repeated use would lead to a psychological craving for it and thus
cause addiction. Though cannabis derivatives are not known to develop
physical dependence as opium derivatives, including heroin, and
alcohol do, they are capable of developing a mental craving that could
be overwhelming for the users.

In the case of youths in the formative years, any psychedelic drug can
interfere with their thinking process, affect cognitive functions,
reduce concentration and mar the development of their personality,
says Dr Suresh Kumar. Youths could become pseudo-philosophical, veer
away from their academic and career pursuits and even turn rebellious
if they are on drugs, however mild they are.

So it is pertinent that the younger generation is kept away from all
mind-altering substances, even if some like bhong, also a derivative
of cannabis, enjoys cultural sanction among some communities, though
legally not allowed.

Substituting the use of bhong with the new toffees, which some of the
regular buyers are presumably doing, might not have adverse effect on
those doing it with a cultural meaning but if the younger generation
gets hooked to the toffee-munching it could open up the gates for them
to the dope domain.

And with drug-e slowing catching the imagination of rave party-goers
in Chennai, those pussyfooting into the drug web through toffees run
the risk of being trapped in it and later on get hooked to that much
dangerous escatsy drug. Drug-e is an amphetamine drug that gives its
users a spurt of hyper energy to party uninterrupted for long hours
and has already wreaked havoc in many southeast Asian countries like
Thailand and Burma, says Dr Suresh Kumar.

With such feral possibilities looming, it is better to stick to the
old adage: Say No to Drugs. Even if it is in the form of mild toffees.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin