Visakhapatnam: Rise in abuse of sedative drugs becomes cause for concern

Visakhapatnam : A section of youths is exploring new ways to get intoxicated. The recent statistics indicate an alarming trend and abuse of sedative drugs has become a serious cause for concern. The main reason for a rise in the abuse of such injections is their easy access and low cost. However, with the number of abusers increasing, the price of these drugs has seen a new high.

At a time when the undivided Visakhapatnam turned out to be a hub for cannabis transportation and cultivation in Agency areas, police kept their focus on curbing them on a large scale. Following a number of raids, the police have identified an excessive usage of sedative injections as well.

However, Pentazocine injections are difficult to access without a doctor's prescription. Following which, peddlers are sourcing them from different places, including West Bengal, to avoid suspicion.

Earlier, the injections were sourced for Rs 60 each and sold for Rs 100. With a growing demand for the sedative drugs in the form of injections and tablets and a number of youths falling for it, the cost has eventually hiked over Rs 200.

Assistant Commissioner of Police A Trinadha Rao mentions that most of the abusers fall under the age group of 25 to 35 years. “Most of them work in private companies. Those who are using the sedative injection for the first time will be in an intoxicated condition for almost half a day. Unfortunately, some of the abusers are resorting to injecting such sedatives two to three times a day,” he explains.

Police have tightened the monitoring mechanism on the sources from where the ampoules are getting transported and vigilance has been firmed up along the routes. Two years back, very few sedative injections and tablets were seized by the police. However, now, the quantity of injections getting transported to Visakhapatnam has gone up to thousands.

While the police are keeping a strict vigil on curbing ganja transportation and its cultivation, an apparent increase in the abuse of sedative drugs has increased manifold. In the past one week, the police have seized more than 6,000 pentazocine injections and tablets. In order to fund their vices, police inform, most of the abusers turn into peddlers over a period of time. As a result, the cops have increased their surveillance over the consumers as well.