Kathmandu, June 6

There are no conclusive reasons to exactly figure out what leads today’s youth into drug addiction.

Peer pressure, misunderstanding between family members, frustration, poverty etc are some of the reasons known to many of us.Youths below 25 years are prone to fall  into the vicious trap of drug addiction.

Eighteen-year-old Ram (name changed) from Kathmandu began taking drugs from the age of 16 while studying in Grade XII. His parents had issues at home and they quarrelled with each other frequently. This made his stay at home troublesome and he started taking drugs.

“Due to misunderstanding between my parents I didn’t like to go home. So I began to stay with at my friend’s home and slowly became a drug addict,” said Ram.

In the same way, Prakash (name changed) from Lalitpur left his school while studying in Grade VI. When he came in contact with friends, who were addicted to drugs, he abandoned his studies. He shares, “I never felt like studying when I started doing drugs.” He added, “My family couldn’t afford to provide me pocket money. So, I began to work in daytime as a conductor and meet friends at night to get refreshed.”

Abin KC, founder president of Maya Nepal Drug Alcohol Treatment Centre, Lalitpur, informed that people below 25 are prone to drug addiction. Mostly, frustration, lack of family support, unemployment and low self esteem lead adolescents to drug addiction, “ said KC. He further said only 30 per cent of such addicts return to their normal life whereas rest of the addicts continue using drugs.