GSACS study reveals drug abuse among children in Goa

STARTLING FACTS
GSACS study reveals drug abuse among children in Goa
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: A study conducted by the Goa State AIDS Control Society (GSACS) has made some startling revelations.
If you thought that drug abuse is a youth problem, think again. The study reveals that even children aged 12 years abuse drugs orally and by the time they are in their twenties, take to intravenous drugs.
Many start by s m o k i n g cannabis when at school and later shift to ecstasy and even heroin and brown sugar to get a ‘definite high’. The study also states that some drug users work as peddlers, motorbike pilots, guides/masseurs or barmen in shacks. Incidentally a majority of them also report high-risk sexual behaviour. The mean age for sexual debut is estimated at 19 years of age, with some having their first sexual experience at the age of 17 or below.
The study, Rapid Assessment in Goa, which was conducted by a Delhi-based NGO SHARAN for GSACS presents a snapshot of drug use trends in the state, especially along the North Goa coastal belt.
The study referred to a sample of 100 drug users and submitted that the most common reasons for abusing drugs was peer pressure curiosity, or even to escape stress and family problems.
The report also said that few did drugs to get social acceptance. It also added that the main reason for the shift from oral to intravenous drugs was to get a better high at a lesser cost.
The report gains importance because the UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic 2006 states that the future size of India’s HIV epidemic will depend particularly on the effectiveness of programmes for sex workers and their clients, MSMs and injecting drug users (IDU).
In Goa, GSACS had not intervened till this study was conducted. It was recommended that, “there is a clear need for drug user interventions to target IDUs in North Goa”.

2008 May 22 Times Of India Goa