The widespread prevalence of illegal drugs casts a dark, ominous shadow over societies across the world, threatening the very fabric of social living and putting at risk the coming generations. It demands attention at once, public outrage, and collective effort. It is not just a vice of society; the current drug epidemic—most notably the proliferation of synthetic drugs—is a threat to public health and social stability.
The Deceptive Landscape of Drugs: Natural versus Synthetic
In the attempt to comprehend more about the horribleness of this issue, we need to start by determining the nature of these deleterious drugs. Broadly stated, most illegal drugs are classified into two groups: traditional (natural) drugs and man-made (synthetic) drugs.
Traditional Drugs: These are the types of drugs that are traditionally prepared from plants. Take marijuana from the plant cannabis, cocaine from the leaves of coca, and heroin and opium from the opium poppy. While their effect is hugely uncontrolled, "traditional" drugs function to a large extent through the imitation or obstruction of the brain's neurotransmitter processes. Opioids (e.g., heroin) engage at opioid receptors to produce keen euphoria and analgesia, but also, very gloomily, depress the central nervous system. Cocaine floods the brain with dopamine, producing intense pleasure and illusory energy but also a rise in heart rate and blood pressure, and intense psychological dependence. Marijuana acts on the endocannabinoid system, altering perception, mood, and appetite. They all, following chronic use, share the capacity for addiction, brain reward, motivation, memory, and impulse control circuit modification, and a continuum of physical illness based on the drug.
Synthetic Drugs (New Psychoactive Substances - NPS): Chemically synthesized drugs designed to mimic or enhance the action of classic illegal drugs, or to create new psychoactive effects. Packed as "legal highs" or "research chemicals," it's a very evil euphemism because they're indiscriminately lethal in the majority of instances. Manufacturers continually change their chemical makeup to remain ahead of legal bans, and therefore, law enforcement officers are perpetually engaged in a cat-and-mouse game.
Examples:
Synthetic Cannabinoids were designed to mimic marijuana but could be far more powerful and lethal, causing violent paranoia, hallucinations, racing heartbeat, seizures, and death. They are more likely to bind to brain receptors than the natural THC, producing stronger and unpredictable effects.
Synthetic Cathinones, like cocaine, could lead to extreme agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, increased body temperature, violence and aggression, and acute cardiovascular emergencies.
Fentanyl and synthetic opioids are much more powerful than heroin or morphine, with fentanyl being 50-100 times stronger than morphine. They can provide a fatal dose in small quantities, leading to very fast respiratory depression and overdose. They are also dangerous in that they are typically mixed with other illicit drugs without the person using them knowing.
The effect of synthetic drugs on the human brain is pretty evil, as they have an unknown chemical structure and are highly potent. They hijack the brain's reward system and thereby cause rapid addiction. Their unstable chemical composition can lead to horrific neurotoxic effects like psychosis, extreme anxiety, paranoia, seizures, and long-term brain damage in the form of loss of memory and IQ deformities. They trigger unnatural amounts of neurotransmitter discharge or inhibit reuptake, conveying nonsensical and toxic messages along the brain tracts. Physically, the catastrophic effects are tachycardia, very high blood pressure, renal failure, degeneration of muscles, hyperthermia, and organ destruction. There is no quality control; the user will never be able to know what chemicals they're consuming, leading to overdose and life-threatening negative responses.
The Corrosive Impact on Society
The origins of illegal drug addiction extend far beyond the individual addict, draining the life from society and strangling the institutions of society with staggering costs.
Public Health Emergency: Aside from overt overdoses, illicit drug use facilitates infectious disease spread (e.g., HIV, Hepatitis C from sharing needles), creates an unimaginable burden on the healthcare system, and produces additional mental disease. Years of physical and emotional damage require costly long-term treatment and rehab.
Spiraling Crime and Violence: Gang violence, corruption, and organized crime are all perpetuated by the illegal drug trade. Addicts, who are under the influence of addiction, will steal, rob, or commit other crimes to fund their addiction. Drug-related violence undermines public safety and destabilizes society.
Economic Cost: The cost to the economy is enormous. Production lost by injured workers, the cost of medical expenses, police and jail expenses, and emergency room usage siphon money that would otherwise be used to fund education and social programs.
Disintegration of Family and Community: Drug addiction breaks up the family through abuse, neglect, and intergenerational trauma. Children are exposed to drugs in drug-infested homes, and they endure massive emotional and developmental devastation. Communities are devastated, trust is lost, and social cohesion is destroyed.
Destruction of Social Capital and Trust: The prevalence of drug trade and drug dependency may overload a pervading sense of fearfulness and insecurity, and consequently lower the overall quality of life for everyone living there and inhibiting people from coming together as a community.
The Suspicious Silhouette of "Ketamelon" in Kerala
The recent arrest of "Ketamelon" from Kerala is an eye-opener to the new character and ruthlessness of the modern-day drug menace. Edison, a 35-year-old engineer, stands accused of operating India's largest darknet narcotics empire solo for two years without even his family being aware of it. His operation was to buy massive quantities of LSD blots and ketamine from foreign vendors, one even based in the UK, that is estimated to be the globe's largest LSD seller, and sell them surreptitiously throughout India.
This case is a reflection of some of the unpalatable trends increased application of advanced drug dealing through the darknet, the application of anonymity-minded cryptocurrencies to mask payments, and extremely well-educated players in such criminality. That one individual was able to operate such a massive transglobal cartel is the issue for law enforcers. The magnitude of seizures—over 1,100 LSD blots and 130 kilograms of ketamine—tells volumes about the magnitude of demand for these illegal drugs. These top-level seizures are important to dismantling these syndicates, but also a stark reality check on how widespread and high-tech the illegal drug business has developed.
A Stark Reality Check: The Drugs of Today Vs. Yesterday
"We old people took drugs when we were young, and we were okay." Such a carefree answer, so readily provided by earlier generations, is a fatal lack of awareness of modern drug culture.
It is undoubtedly the case that one did take drugs for enjoyment many years ago, but illegal drug composition has altered beyond recognition and appallingly.
The most unequal divergence lies in the strength, purity, and existence of chemical drugs.
Purity and Potency: Drugs in the 50s, even "hard" drugs, were considerably less potent and often less pure than their modern counterparts. The average THC content of marijuana, for example, has skyrocketed over the decades as a result of selective breeding and advanced cultivation methods. To the extent, today's rural, "backwoods" drugs are quite often adulterated with dangerous, highly potent synthetic drugs like fentanyl without the user's knowledge. A "line of cocaine" in today's times may have a fatal dose of fentanyl, so legal use is a fatal game of chance.
Synthetic Epidemic: Most deeply altered is the appearance of synthetic drugs. The synthetic opioid fentanyl, for example, was scarcely heard of on the black market half a century ago. Synthetic cannabis and cathinones were unheard of at that time. Manufactured in labs, they are cheap, simple to make, and overpowering, binding quite often to multiple brain receptors at once with many times more affinity than naturally occurring drugs. Their enhanced effect makes them infinitely more deadly and addictive.
Unknown Composition: Since synthetic drugs aren't controlled, their chemical composition varies outrageously from batch to batch, even when they're brought to market under the same brand name. People are being used as guinea pigs and unwittingly taking experimental mixtures of untested, toxic chemicals. Uncertainty tremendously increases the risk of overdose, disastrous side effects, and irreparable health damage.
Abrupt Addiction: Unparalleled power and direct specificity for brain reward mechanisms in so many of the more recent synthetic drugs all contribute to addiction setting in far more quickly and intensely than with traditional drugs. Something potentially "recreational use" can very rapidly become catastrophic dependence today, trapping individuals in a cycle very difficult to break out of.
Thus, the free-wheeling experimentation of yesteryear yields to the deadly dangers of the modern-day drug trade. To imply equivalence between the two is to cavalierly ignore the deadly path these drugs are on and to invite, unwittingly, a new generation to wager Russian roulette with their own life.
An Urgent Call to Action
The drug epidemic is a multifaceted disease requiring an integrated, informed, and proactive response. It is more than a police problem; it is a very powerful one of public health and social concern that must be addressed through the collective effort of all concerned.
Foster Prevention and Education: Evidence-based, age-appropriate drug education programs should be offered, especially to children and youth. These should be more than fear messages to provide factual information on the dangers, distinctions between new and old drugs, and peer resistance.
Improve Treatment and Rehabilitation: Addiction is a disorder, not an ethical issue. There should be accessible, affordable, and suitable treatment in the form of medication-assisted treatment, therapy, and harm reduction practice. Rehab centers should emphasize full recovery, mental health, social integration, and employment training.
Improve Law Enforcement and Intelligence: Treatment is paramount, but disrupting the supply chain is still crucial. Law enforcement must continue to keep their sights set on enhancing their ability to disrupt sophisticated networks of darknet, cross-border trafficking cartels, and illicit production of designer drugs. Cross-border cooperation and intelligence exchange are not merely needed.
Heal the Causes: Poverty, deprivation of opportunities, social injustice, and mental illness are usually the causes of drug abuse. Investing in social welfare schemes, economic development, education, and mental health facilities can render communities immune to the epidemic of drugs.
Open Discussion and Destigmatization: Drug addiction has to be destigmatized. Open discussion in the home, school, and community will increase awareness, lead to individuals seeking treatment, and establish a climate of facilitation of recovery.
Research and Innovation: Ongoing investment in scientific research into the neuroscience of addiction, efficacious prevention, and emerging new treatment methods is necessary to create better responses to this changing epidemic.
There is a cloud of illegal drugs weighing and threatening, but not impassable. By acknowledging the various and more dangerous nature of drugs now, by understanding those who are caught in the trap of addiction, and by connecting our prevention initiatives, our treatment modalities, and our law enforcement, we may begin to dispel this darkness. The fate of our society, and mankind as a whole, rests on our collective will to embrace this challenge on its terms, with foresight, with compassion, and with unshakeable resolve.