CNN Video on "Drugs in Punjab"

[Saleem]

Left BTF to check some news, immediately hit a video clip of bhangra.


http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/world/2012/03/08/pkg-sidner-india-heroin-nation.cnn


A video on heroin and other drug issues in Punjab.

 

[dj2nyce]

saleem you actually browse the internet aside from BTF? this is shocking news haha

 

[mithu]

Pretty old new. Pinds have been plagued with drugs for years and years.

 

[jvirk]

Pretty old new. Pinds have been plagued with drugs for years and years.

+1
This has been a long term issue which is getting worse

 

[SanghaSoldier]

The whole thing is a conspiracy by the Indian government.

 

[HarmanSingh]

The whole thing is a conspiracy by the Indian government.

The WHOLE thing? No, there is plenty of blame to fall directly on the people of Punjab.

 

[Jabar Jung]

Aside from the topic, anyone notice at 1:40, the guy is wearing shoes backwards

 

[COMTONDAJATT]

This stuff distresses the hell out of me. Nothing will destroy a land like addiction to substance will. Punjab has already had a problem with alcohol in the past 50 years and now when you add the rising tide of drug use its bad news. Generations of people will be ruined. What can you do though?

Anyone got any ideas?

 

[DrPimper007]

one word

sports

 

[Jatt08]

The whole thing is a conspiracy by the Indian government.

It truly is a conspiracy. With the unemployment rising, increasing inflation, a revolution is at the verge of happening but not if the youth is on drugs. Its a strategy used world wide, just way more extreme in Punjab.

The only point after independence when the drug use was down in Punjab was when Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was Jathedar of Akal Takhat. Drug use was discouraged and more people were true to their religion. He stated "Be true to what you are, if you are a Sikh be a true Sikh, if you are Hindu be a true Hindu, If you are a Muslim be a true Muslim". Liquor Stores (Thekke) were forced to be shut down. So were all the deras in Punjab. These deras are there mostly for the control over the illiterate people.

The only solution to the problem is education and awareness against drugs.
Drug suppliers/sellers should be severely punished.
Any kind of drugs including tobacco and alcohol should be banned from the state. If Gujrat can do it, why not Punjab?

 

[HarmanToor]

This stuff distresses the hell out of me. Nothing will destroy a land like addiction to substance will. Punjab has already had a problem with alcohol in the past 50 years and now when you add the rising tide of drug use its bad news. Generations of people will be ruined. What can you do though?

Anyone got any ideas?

Not much anyone can do other then raise awareness against these disabling drugs. To truly understand what is going on you have to get inside the mind of a drug addict and figure out why they resort to drugs in the first place because it's not like someone is shoving this shit down their throats or pushing it up their veins. Blaming/punishing the people who are distributing these drugs won't do much either because the demand is always there, and when there is a demand, there is someone ready to supply it. Punjabis have lost faith in Punjab, they don't trust each other and the corrupt police system just makes it worse, so now you have a whole state of people just looking out for themselves even if they have to do corrupt shit like sell drugs to minors just to survive and thrive, whats the risk when you can buy your way out of jail? IMO, punjab is too deep in corruption and not until that corruption is gone will you see these drugs off the streets.

 

[DrPimper007]

everyone talking about the conspiracy thing is absolutely right

but I think if more reward was shown for sports then people would direct their attention to them instead of drugs.

The recent kabaddi revival could help?

 

[Jatt08]

This stuff distresses the hell out of me. Nothing will destroy a land like addiction to substance will. Punjab has already had a problem with alcohol in the past 50 years and now when you add the rising tide of drug use its bad news. Generations of people will be ruined. What can you do though?

Anyone got any ideas?

Not much anyone can do other then raise awareness against these disabling drugs. To truly understand what is going on you have to get inside the mind of a drug addict and figure out why they resort to drugs in the first place because it's not like someone is shoving this shit down their throats or pushing it up their veins. Blaming/punishing the people who are distributing these drugs won't do much either because the demand is always there, and when there is a demand, there is someone ready to supply it. Punjabis have lost faith in Punjab, they don't trust each other and the corrupt police system just makes it worse, so now you have a whole state of people just looking out for themselves even if they have to do corrupt shit like sell drugs to minors just to survive and thrive, whats the risk when you can buy your way out of jail? IMO, punjab is too deep in corruption and not until that corruption is gone will you see these drugs off the streets.

Corruption is root of this problem but not the sole cause. And corruption will always exist at one level or the other. For some drugs are just a way to enjoy life (those who don't have to worry about money) for others it just helps them sleep at night (those who have College education but not enough money to pay the politicians to get that job) and then there are those who work hard but still not get the money they deserve for the hard work (the farmers who have to sell their crop at the rate government fixes but the rate at which its sold to the consumer is NOT regulated). But like you said, only an addict knows whats going on in his mind.

 

[GSingh]

Incentivizing sports will only help if the leadership in those programs is honest. There's already been multiple cases of athletes using steroids to get ahead, primarily in kabaddi. As everyone has already said, the beginning for change is in the leadership, which means removing any/all corrupt officials, and replacing them with good people.

 

[Jatt08]

everyone talking about the conspiracy thing is absolutely right

but I think if more reward was shown for sports then people would direct their attention to them instead of drugs.

The recent kabaddi revival could help?

It could help and does help to some point but even in that sometimes players get carried away and start using performance enhancement drugs, some legal and some illegal which again have long term affect on the body.

 

[Jatt08]

Incentivizing sports will only help if the leadership in those programs is honest. There's already been multiple cases of athletes using steroids to get ahead, primarily in kabaddi. As everyone has already said, the beginning for change is in the leadership, which means removing any/all corrupt officials, and replacing them with good people.

Yup, but that is not easy as we all saw what happened in the recent elections. PPP seemed closest to the good although there were no guarantees, but there was a chance and the people of punjab were sold out with money and drugs in exchange for their votes.

 

[DrPimper007]

they cracked down pretty hard with the dope test last year, a crap ton of people got the boot out of before and after the tournament, but yeah I've heard stories from my cousins in Punjab about how there would just be a shit ton of syringes in garbage cans at matches

 

[HdBrar]

This is pretty sad news. We really should make some sort of effort to curb this sort of drug usage, to prevent further generations from falling victim to such influences.

 

[COMTONDAJATT]

Not much anyone can do other then raise awareness against these disabling drugs. To truly understand what is going on you have to get inside the mind of a drug addict and figure out why they resort to drugs in the first place because it's not like someone is shoving this shit down their throats or pushing it up their veins. Blaming/punishing the people who are distributing these drugs won't do much either because the demand is always there, and when there is a demand, there is someone ready to supply it. Punjabis have lost faith in Punjab, they don't trust each other and the corrupt police system just makes it worse, so now you have a whole state of people just looking out for themselves even if they have to do corrupt shit like sell drugs to minors just to survive and thrive, whats the risk when you can buy your way out of jail? IMO, punjab is too deep in corruption and not until that corruption is gone will you see these drugs off the streets.

You are right. Corruption is the root of this to a large extent. Short of a nuclear war in India and restart of civilization it doesn't seem like it can be taken care of. I wish there was like a 'scared straight' program or something. Alcohol is way more available now than ever before too (family friend owns a shit load of thekas, he told me). I guess keeping vigilant and trying to occupy kids times with other stuff a parent can do.