Pubdate: Sun, 28 Oct 2007
Source: The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Copyright: 2005 The Daily Star
Contact:  http://www.thedailystar.net
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3893

YABA ADDICTION

Its Extent And Nature Horrifying

The crackdown on Yaba peddlers by Rab has exposed the  magnitude of 
the problem of drug use among the affluent  youths in the city. Kudos 
to the Rab team. The details  pouring in are mind-boggling, to say 
the least. Moral  degeneration has reached an abysmal state, without 
our even knowing what has been going on. The situation has  turned 
critical, as addiction looks like threatening a  whole generation of youths.

The law enforcers' action has apparently forced the  drug peddlers to 
change their modus operandi, and they  are now recruiting new 
operatives to keep the business  alive. Obviously, the supply lines 
have to be cut off  to ensure that the deadly drugs don't reach any 
customer. The illegal business has grown big and the  law enforcers 
will have to make some determined efforts  to contain it.

There is more worrying news. So far, the general  impression was that 
Bangladesh was being used as a  transit route by the drug smugglers. 
But it is now  clear that the number of local users has increased 
manifold. Worse still, drugs like Yaba are being  produced locally! 
That's also an indication that a huge  number of youths have become 
regular customers of such  intoxicants.

The question might now arise what the narcotics  department had been 
doing while the drug business  thrived. Evidently, the surveillance 
on production,  supply or marketing of such drugs was poor, if at all 
there was anybody to bother about the ominous  proliferation of the 
drug. Another point that seems to  be rather baffling is that the 
Yaba trade was being  conducted by youths from rich and socially 
well-placed  families. Were they powerful enough to neutralise the 
enforcement of law? What else can we surmise from the  way the Yaba 
trade was going on?

Whatever might be the reason behind the malignant  growth of drug 
trade and abuse, it has to be stopped in  order to save our youths 
from self-destruction. The law  enforcers have already arrested a 
number of suspected  drug peddlers. And we expect that soon they will 
be  able to identify and catch the godfathers who might  have been 
controlling the business from behind the  scene. Drug abuse has to be 
prevented at any cost, if  we don't want to find ourselves ensnared 
with a social  menace of the most unmanageable type.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman