Imphal, June 19: Along with the arrival of June 26 which is being observed world-wide as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Rosy (not her real name), a female drug user who is currently undergoing treatment in a rehabilitation centre has appealed to all the drug abusers to take a pledge for giving up their drug habit and lead a new life.

Rosy is just one of the many women drug users in Manipur whose numbers are on the rise.

Even if their numerical figure might be lower in comparison to the population of male drug users, the number of women specially the young girls getting into the habit of drugs over one reason or the other has been steadily on the rise in the past 10 years.

But today, Rosy who has gone through all the physical, psychological and spiritual complications of abusing drugs has taken a resolute stand of kicking the habit and appealed to all who have been caught in the snare of drugs to give up the habit.

She further appealed to the parents of the female drug users to provide the much needed emotional support instead of ill-treating them in helping them to kick the habit.

It was sometime after she had given her class XII examination and while waiting for the declaration of the results that Rosy had the first taste of drugs along with some of her friends out of curiosity.

At first, they tried tablets and later started consuming alcohol before getting into the habit of other more potent drugs like Heroin.

One day, one of her friends whose parents dealt in Heroin brought some of the 'powdery substance' and insisted on trying out with that as it gives more kicks.

From that day Rosy started using injecting drugs with her friends, sometime sharing the same syringe.

Rosy hails from Churachandpur district.

Her father is a contractor and her mother is a housewife.

While she was a child, Rosy had seen two of her drug addicted elder brothers injecting with Heroin and both passed away in due course of time.

When her parents came to know that Rosy has also got into the habit of abusing drugs, they stopped her from going to school and constantly admonished her calling her a wayward child who would disgrace the name of the family.

By the time her parents learnt about her drug habits, Rosy was already addicted to Heroin.

So no amount of punishment and admonition given to her worked and finally, her parents chased Rosy out from the house.

Not happy with the attitude of her parents, Rosy complained, 'While both my elder brothers were using drugs, they were not chased out from the house.

But in my case, they called me names and asked me not to stay at home.

I had nowhere else to go and loitered around here and there'.

As the condition of her health deteriorated and her dependence on on drugs grew by the day, Rosy employed every possible means to procure the daily dose of her drug requirement.

When asked whether she had worked as a sex worker for money to buy drug, Rosy said, 'Because of dependency on drug, the possibility was very high.

But luckily at that time I had a boyfriend who was very understanding.

He used to advise me for giving up the drug and sometime provided money for drug when I was badly in need'.

It was with the help of this boyfriend that Rosy got in touch with a person working as a counsellor in a Churachandpur-based rehabilitation centre.

After participating in a drug de-addiction programme, Rosy stayed in the rehabilitation centre for six months.

While staying there, her health improved and she managed to stay away from drugs.

After coming out from the rehabilitation centre, Rosy stayed at her house.

But her boyfriend had already married another girl and that left her broken heart.

With her hope shattered and lack of emotional support of her parents, she relapsed and once again started taking drugs.

When all the earlier symptoms of body pain, vomiting, sleeplessness, etc returned, Rosy went to another rehabilitation centre for treatment and stayed there for nine months.

After the treatment at the rehabilitation centre, Rosy managed to stay away from drugs for two years.

It was during this time that she fell in love with a person and got married.

But when the family members of her in-laws learnt about her past drug habit, they did not accepted her.

Rosy and her husband stayed in a rented house for one year after which they separated.

By then, Rosy had also come to know about her HIV status and feeling that there is no hope in life, she again started using Heroin.

Rosy is now 30 years old.

Along with a strong determination of giving up her drug habit for once and all, Rosy has been staying at a female drug de-addiction since March 22 this year.

On getting her own free time, she goes to attend the meeting of the Narcotics Anonymous.

' Once I complete my treatment course and come of the rehabilitation centre, my first priority would be attend the meetings of the Narcotics Anonymous regularly so that I don't relapse and kick the drug habit for the rest of my life', she said.

While observing that the support of the parents is very much required in making the children who have fallen into the snare of drugs due to one reason or the other, Rosy fervently appealed to the parents to support their children in giving a new life.

Comment