Dynamics of Drug Addiction and Abuse in India: Socio-economic Profiles of Individuals in Treatment for Drug Addiction in Northwest India

The book ‘Dynamics of Drug Addiction and Abuse in India’ by Ranjit Singh Ghuman, Jatinder Singh, and Gurinder Kaur was published in 2023 by Routledge India. It presented the results of an Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR- Government of India) funded research study conducted among 950 individuals (along with their households) with substance addiction, from five north western Indian states (Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir). The results of the study were summarized across the chapters and arranged according to themes related to socio demographic profiles of the addicted individuals, the family and household factors in their substance initiation, pattern and types of substances used and the various negative consequences faced by them. The data for the same was collected through interviews, focus group discussions, case studies, literature review, etc. and involved not just the individuals with addictions, but also their family members, community stakeholders and various other parties involved in the efforts towards curbing illicit drug use. The results indicated that most of the addicted individuals were male, young, not highly educated, underemployed and had started using substances before age of 20. The most commonly used drugs were various derivatives of cannabis and opioid/opiates and this included both natural and synthetic forms of the drugs. The addicted individuals faced various negative consequences of their substance use and they were/ had received treatment in various government and private deaddiction and rehabilitation centers for their substance use issues. The study highlighted the issue of the changing drug cultures centered around Punjab and the authors also provided several recommendations in addressing the problems associated with drug abuse and addiction. In the efforts towards combatting the growing substance use epidemic in India, the research study summarized in this book has several important implications for family and community members, administrators, law enforcement agencies and policymakers in coming up with effective intervention strategies.