At a glance Ugyen Tenzin, 23, looks normal. He’s a tall, well dressed, good looking young man. But he is perpetually in a warped state of mind.

He’s been that way since his college days in India when he first tried two spasmo proxyvon tablets that made him feel hyperactive. Now, five years later, he takes about 10 such pills a day, sometimes even more. “It’s become a daily routine. My whole body aches and stops functioning if I miss a day,” he said. “I never knew that it would become such a part of my life.” Ugyen comes from a middle class family and both parents work for the civil service. He graduated last year and is looking for a job. He wants to join the police.

To Ugyen, being on pills, does not make him feel like an outsider. Many young men his age seem to be on something or the other. Take his friend Jigme, for example, who will graduate this year. “I spend half the pocket money my parents send buying stuff. In my college in India, of the 16 Bhutanese students there, ten, one girl included, take pills.”

Jigme said that the pills made him bold and full of life and sometimes he cleaned the whole house all by himself. “You want to be part of the crowd, you want to be cool, you want to dare, that’s how it begins.” Jigme said that, like most urban Bhutanese kids, he first tried sniffing dendrite while at school in Thimphu.

Substance abuse is not a new story in Bhutan. It has been reported and written about for almost two decades now. What is new is that the situation is getting from bad to worse. Reported OD deaths average one a month and Bhutanese youth are taking to it like it’s now part of local culture. So when a friend makes a trip to the border town of Phuentsholing, as gifts he brings pills and the like.

The problem is so widespread that it has penetrated the smallest of urban settlements as statistics with the Bhutan narcotic control agency (BNCA) indicate. Between 1989-2005, of 817 arrests made, a few were even from remote places like Sakteng. The report also shows that 56 percent of abusers were students and 91 percent, youth under 24 years.

The 2006 report recognizes that substance abuse is a youth-related problem and that students are the most vulnerable group. As one former high school student in Thimphu said, “There were so many students (class nine and above) who were on pills in my school. Some students used to even peddle.”

The problem seems to be worse in the gateway town of Phuentsholing with illegal prescription drugs easily available over the counter in bordering Jaigaon. And hooked in huge numbers are high school students.

Since the problem first emerged, measures have been taken to curb its influence, if unsuccessfully. Illegal prescription drugs cannot be bought over the counter in Bhutan and police have cracked down on peddlers who smuggle in the substance from Jaigaon. The Bhutan narcotic control agency was set up in 2006.

Yet youth in Thimphu, Paro and other towns seem to get their supply on a regular basis. It comes hidden in underwear, car seats, engines, carcasses, taxis, buses, private, government, army and hospital vehicles. The police are hard pressed to strip-check each and every vehicle/passenger. Traffic on the Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway averages more than 1,200 vehicles a day. The most commonly smuggled prescription drugs are Relepin and spasmo proxy both pain killers, N 10, prescribed for sleep disorders and cough syrup like corex that some working people are addicted to.

“The supply must be checked if this problem is to be addressed,” said a one-time user. “Young people get into it because of availability but they don’t know what they’re getting into and, by the time they do, they’re hooked.”

Some Thimphu residents say that the deteriorating situation is indicative of misplaced priorities. “You have the poultry product ban, the tobacco ban but what really needs to be banned are the substances that are beginning to destroy an entire generation of young Bhutanese.”

The wide social acceptance of alcohol, no healthy outlets to tap youthful energy and a lack of role models have often been stated as other reasons contributing to the problem.

Others say that parents must play a greater role in addressing the issue. Many parents do not seem to be aware that their children could be on their way to getting hooked. Some live in denial. Schoolteachers have expressed frustration over not being able to contact the parents when a situation arises.

“It’s a problem that needs a multi-pronged approach,” said a doctor with the Thimphu hospital. “But coordination is lacking, everything is ad hoc. For us here, we don’t even basic drug testing facilities.”

“The government must give equal attention to drug and alcohol consumption,” said BNCA executive director, Kinley Dorji. “The agency alone can’t solve this problem.” Last month alone, the police had 12 drug cases, of which seven were abusers, five female, and five peddlers. According to BNCA, increasing OD deaths could be attributed to abusers mixing drugs with alcohol.

“There is a misconception among youth that great artistes did great things under the influence,” said a Thimphu resident. “I used to also think that way until I realized that the great artists were born great or worked hard to be so.” Source: Kuenselonline