Unveiling Shadows: Mr. First and Ralith Milith.

Ralith Milith member Tajamul got a call from a person who wanted to share the tale of his dreaded past as an addict and his painful present. Mr. First (name chnaged) who was currently in drug withdrawal phase. This story can crumble anyone’s heart as it brings how drug pandemic is spreading even after being at constant check by authorities and how drug paddler’s are Ten steps ahead in destroying and annihilating this paradise. Drugs dont only kill, they destroy families, alienate them in their own area where they lived their whole life. Without further impediment we begin aur interview with Mr. First.

Q: Since when did you start taking drugs?
A: I started taking drugs from march when COVID-19 lockdown was initiated.

Q: What were the reasons you started this?
A: Personal issues and problems at home. (Patient didn’t want to speak about them)

Q: When u were depressed, how did u got into contact with drugs?
A: A guy (drug peddler) was distributing them in bemina already promising to heal mental stress.

Q: At first did this peddler give u this medicine for free or did it cost anything?
A: From the beginning he (peddler) said that peddler will bare some loss and i will have to pay some and that some about was ₹500

Q: What drug was that he gave u (first dose)?
A: Heroin.

Q: Intake means?
A: Initial days quantity of heroin was very less and for 20 days my intake method was sniffed drug than after 20 days i started injecting myself. This was from march to July ending.

Q: How did you afford drugs?
A: I used my hard earned money to buy drugs.

Q: So lets say if your hard earned money ended or there was shortage how did you manage more money?
A: I used to get furious ask money from parents. They used to pay eventually without knowing the reason why was i taking the money?

Q: So when did you thought you should leave this?
A: Before Eid i took half gram than on Eid again than from 2nd Eid day there was shortage of heroin in kashmir. It wasn’t available in whole kashmir. Dealers Switched off their phones (all the dealers of shalimar, bemina , lal bazaar) . I got distressed and than i kept thinking what i will do now? Than i discussed it with the friend and he consulted me not to fall into this and also helped me in getting into mental hospital from where i got anti drug medicine and currently i am onto them. During this i had a lot of pain, anxiety, Palpitation was high, pain was unbearable.

Q: What was the reaction of parents?
A: Mother already had hunch of this but when father came to know he felt unconscious. Whole family was distorted overnight.

Q: Why didn't you admit yourself in Rehab?
A: No, this would have made my family alienated towards the whole society. After this our interviewer asked Mr. First about web of drug peddler/dealer, but to his knowledge this web was spread for whole Srinagar. A single call and delivery boy would reach to him to handover the package. This story tells us how a family, happy family with normal problems got caught into their worst nightmare. Drug addiction in kashmir is catching pace, and there is no stopping this. Not everyone get lucky like Mr. First. In Mr. First case we found his friend helped him, but in many cases we have seen friends putting others into it. Once someone gets into it, s/he can still be saved, but what keeps him/her into it, is that drug addict is seen as alien in the society and people outrage towards the family, towards the patient decreases the chances of recovery and if recovery doesn’t happen the result of this is annihilation, of patient as well as well as his family. We can help them, all we need is to keep in mind that, “ We Attack The Problem, Not The patient”