PATTERN OF SHIFTING OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG DRUG ADDICTS UNDERGOING TREATMENT AT DDCS (DRUG DEADDICTION CENTERS) IN PUNJAB

In India, drug addiction has reached very alarming levels in the state of Punjab. The data from a cross-sectional study in two of the DDCs in district Gurdaspur and three of the DDCs in district Hoshiarpur revealed that about 26 patients had history of shifting pattern of substance abuse. The reasons cited by the patients were of affordability, the ease of availability, the job place, the locality and the peer groups, in which they were hanging out. Studies also confirm the fact, that tighter control over one drug in India forced some drug users to switch to use other drugs. So, uprooting of this evil from any society needs multipronged strategy comprising of, total supply breakdown of all types of drugs, breaking down the nexus of suppliers and the drug peddlers, support of the family and the community towards addicts, encouraging them to come out in the open for deaddiction, improvisation of the services at DDCs, vocational rehabilitation wherever needed and integration in mainstream of the society with open arms and hearts.