Marijuana use among children, youngsters rising in Warangal

Easy access to the marijuana that is illegally being brought from Andhra Pradesh is leading to children getting hooked to the drug

Warangal: In a worrisome trend, the use of marijuana among children, some of them just 10 years old, is on the rise in erstwhile Warangal district. The children are getting hooked to ganja because of easy access to the drug that is being brought in illegally from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Keeping this alarming trend in mind, the Task Force under Warangal police recently conducted a counselling session for students who were caught by the police for consuming cannabis under the jurisdiction of Warangal Commissionerate. The parents were also called in and police and experts cautioned them on the possible adverse effects on these future citizens.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Task Force Inspector Ch Srinivas Ji said use of narcotic substances including ganja was on the rise due to different reasons in both urban and rural pockets under the Warangal police commissionerate limits.

“Since parents are not very watchful about the activities of their wards, especially teenagers, many students and others are getting addicted to ganja. In view of this unhealthy development, we conducted an awareness programme for students and their parents. Warangal Police Commissioner Dr Tarun Joshi, who was the chief guest at the programme, said that addiction to ganja could ruin precious lives and cause grief to parents,” Srinivas Ji said.

Meanwhile, Dr Ramu Pottabattula, who runs the Helping Hand De-Addiction Centre in Warangal, said children aged around 10 years were also getting addicted to ganja in erstwhile Warangal, Karimnagar and Adilabad districts. “A parent who was an alcoholic in the past and got treatment at our de-addiction centre, recently came to our de-addiction centre after his son aged 10 started smoking ganja. They are from a small village near Manthani town of Peddapalli district. Ganja use is prevalent mainly among school and college dropouts. Diploma, degree and B.Tech students from both urban and rural areas are also falling prey to this menace,” he said, adding that at least 15 teenagers and youngsters are being given treatment for de-addiction.

“While 60 per cent of our patients are alcoholics, 30 per cent are drug addict who are in second stage,” Dr Ramu, who has been running the de-addiction centre for the last 21 years in Hanamkonda, said.

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