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| Edited By: Ornella D'Souza |Source: DNA |Updated: Nov 26, 2018, 01:40 PM IST
While Canada's legalising recreational cannabis last month, made Mary Jane lovers across the globe go green with envy, it's fascinating to note how the Government of Canada has listed the ill-effects of this psychoactive drug on its official website (www.canada.ca/en/services/health/campaigns/cannabis/health-effects.html). It includes attention-deficiency, poor decision-making, mood swings, and psychosis as short term drawbacks, and lung and breathing problems and addiction – much to the angst of those patrons and health experts who state otherwise – as long terms effects. The page also reveals facts such as 'Close to 1 in 10 adults who have ever used cannabis will develop an addiction to it. This statistic rises to about 1 in 6 for people who started using cannabis as a teenager', 'Between 1 in 4 and 1 in 2 of those who smoke cannabis daily will develop an addiction to it', and that 'THC, the substance which gives the "high" in cannabis, affects the same machinery in the brain that directs brain development'.
Funnily, according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction, Canadians between 15-24 are some of the highest cannabis users in the world. Also, despite the above warnings, cannabis centres in Canada have begun to go out of stock every week. It has propelled the rise of black market marijuana and citizens not abiding by Canada's zero-tolerance policy of driving under the influence of the drug.
While there's a high possibility that Canada's decision may go down the pot, on this note, the question to be asked is, what makes someone hooked on to life-threatening and negatively brain-altering substances such as drugs, opioid painkillers, sedatives, inhalants, tobacco, alcohol, etc.? And is it possible to stop?
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines addiction as "a complex condition, a brain disease that is manifested by compulsive substance use despite harmful consequence". And that this 'disease' has no cure because recovery from it is not foolproof given the high probability of relapse. But Scientific American, the US-based award-winning authoritative source for the scientific discoveries, argues that calling substance addiction a disease paints its users in a sympathetic light, taking away the responsibility from their culpable actions. It also states users don't need rehab and are capable of battling their cravings for good. Researchers, however, unanimously agree that an individual's genetic predisposition, behaviour and environment are the three predominant causes for any kind of addiction/s to develop.
Rev Fr Joe H Pereira, Founder Trustee of Kripa Foundation – an NGO that rehabilitates people afflicted with chemical dependency and HIV Infection, and has 72 centres in India and worldwide – says substance addiction is inherited. So if your father chain smokes or your grandfather was an alcoholic, chances of you possibly getting addicted to that specific substance are high. The 76-year-old Padma Shri awardee observes, "Nobody coming for de-addiction is the first in his/her gharana." This thought connects to the Alcohol and Drugs: A Parent's Guide 2018 report by Ireland's Health Service Executive that warns parents from letting their kids see them drunk, proudly sharing their drunken and/or drug stories or addressing stress with 'I need a drink after the day I've had' attitude that normalises these vices, and can encourage your teen to drink more, outside home.
Secondly, behaviour choices can make way for addictions. "Today, children are given iPads as pacifiers and taught to run after something they want. In the process, we're creating 'king babies' – adults with an infantile psyche, who continue to want something to pacify themselves with," says Fr Pereira.Third factor is the peer group, as 'birds of a feather flock together'. Case in point is 72-year-old *Merwin R, a veteran counselor at a Mumbai-based de-addiction centre. "I had the gift of the gab, a boon in my sales and marketing profession. I made friends easily... too many friends actually, and that became my weakness." From drinking beer with his friends and at every office party, he switched to hard liquor on realising it costs lesser and gives a better high. In time, he'd finish one whole bottle daily, neat. "I was very good in organising get-togethers. But after each one, I had to be carried home, completely drunk. My lifestyle led to absenteeism and I lost my job."
Then 23 years ago, he hit rock bottom. Post binge-drinking with friends one evening, Merwin lost consciousness. He woke up outside Victoria Gardens, Byculla, and for 22 days, lay inebriated and drinking madly with no recollection who supplied the alcohol. In the process, his watch, gold chain, and even shoes were stolen. As if by miracle, Mother Teresa passed by in an ambulance and saw him and took him to Ashadaan, an NGO run by Missionaries of Charity. He was in such a bad state that the sisters prepared his death certificate. But Merwin survived, and later joined the same rehab he's now a staff at.
His drinking buddies, however, were not lucky. "Couple of years later, when I went to get my friends to attend the 12-step program, at every door I knocked, I was told that the person was no more. All dead in their 50's, mostly from liver cirrhosis. I could've been one of them…"
Merwin still socialises, but sticks to his soft drinks even when egged on to drink alcohol. "I just go to test myself..."
"When an average person drinks more than usual, his/her brain sends out a warning signal. But those prone to addictions, don't get receive such signals," says Dr Pratima Murthy, Professor, Dept of Psychiatry, & Chief, De-addiction Services National Institute of Mental Health And Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru.
Agreeing with Murthy, is *Mehul, a poly-addict [multiple substance user]. He had done a six-month rehab stint in 2009 to quit the trinity of alcohol, drug and nicotine addiction, but relapsed on getting out because "a stay in rehab usually dries a using person, but to stay clean when outside in the society, one has to work the 12 steps of AA." Finally in 2011, after the standard 90-day, he was successful in laying his demons to rest for good. While he's resisted a relapse till now, he fell into sex and porn addiction. Mehul breaks it down simply. "Non-addicts won't keep haggling over an issue that's long over, but we [users] continue to bottle all the hate, jealousy, anger or shame in our mind. When I drank, doped or watched porn, it felt so good. So when I'm not feeling good when I feel all these emotions, my mind knows how to make me feel good, and suggests, 'go have a drink'. The problem is, people like me, once we start we cannot stop." But Mehul disagrees with the assumption that substance dependants have no willpower. "Even the worst of drunks, when they promise they won't drink, they don't. But gradually, they start obsessing about these emotions, which causes a build-up till the mind can resist no longer, and then willpower goes out."
Mehul remembers his days of chasing the high, frequenting massage parlours, five-star hotels and red-light areas. "One woman could not satisfy me. I needed threesomes and BDSM. If I slept with someone 3-4 times, I'd get bored. During work, I'd think of who to have sex with at night. Getting on with women, for me, was like changing clothes. I paid well to get reality as close to porn. I didn't understand the [dating] drill of meeting for coffee, going on dates and waiting to have sex," he says. He realised he had a problem when one day he went on a porn-watching binge for six hours. Mehul then enrolled at Sexoholics Anonymous (SA) that operates from the US, but has members in India. Some may find SA's sobriety commandments rigid – no sex if single, only sex with spouse, and no masturbating. "But sex addiction is the toughest! Substance addictions involve an external intake, but with sex, I have the memory of things I've seen and done, where lust is the drug. Hard to forget."
Mehul is now dating someone he's in love with. She forgave him despite the fact he had cheated on her. "There were more affairs she doesn't know about, but I straightened up not just for her, but also because the way I was going. I was a mess, I was dying," says the now ardent follower of Sadguru and Eckhart Tole.
But forming a Sex Anon group in India that comprises both men and women has proven impossible. "My three attempts to have one in Bandra, fizzled out. People here speak about sexual weakness and promiscuity, and are worried they might fall [for members of the other gender]," says Fr Pereira. As SA members only connect with each other online, they've managed to include one female member, "but we've not actively involved her," says Mehul.
Many treat smoking as a lesser evil to drinking and drugs, given that we don't hear of Smokers Anonymous given the number AA, NA and SA groups. But experts state that this a gross miscalculation. "I've had patients who gave up alcohol, but not smoking and ended up dying from lung cancer," cautions Dr Murthy about cigarettes being a gateway to other vices.
Consider the case of *Henry R, who became a full-blown heroin addict by 16. He was a star student, a junior-level player with the state football club, and secured the 18th rank in state-level aptitude test.
But after Class 10, his active smoking to fit into an 'older' crowd, saw him finish two WIN king-sized packs – 40 cigarettes, every day. "I was largely influenced by my friends' circle to experiment with drugs, and finally heroin. By day four of trying heroin, I couldn't stop. Heroin became my first love. It put me in a tension-free place and let me trip on my own. On it, I could study, play football, give a speech in public confidently. So despite OD'ing three times, I was in complete denial." To afford his drug, Henry used up his scholarship funds and pocket money, made a duplicate key to steal from his mother's cupboard, and once, even slapped his mother when she refused to spare him money. His parents got to know about his condition after the cops caught him in possession of heroin.
Finally, Henry buckled and his parents put him in rehab. "The first three days were the toughest of my life. The withdrawals were unbearable. I would shiver, get feverish, was scared to touch water, felt dirty, had no energy or appetite, suffered headaches, sleepless nights, and had the sensation of a mouse running down my back..." Now clean for three years, Henry is yet to kick the butt, although he's reduced to smoking five cigarettes per day.
After 90 days rehab and nine months of extended care, Henry relapsed to brown sugar. "Even alcohol is not safe for me. So I'm careful all the time." But relapse shouldn't deter an individual, for whom it might take 4-5 slip offs to block his/her demons for good, says Murthy, adding, "People relapse from hypertension, diabetes, bronchial asthma, and even cancer, so why not an addiction? Relapse doesn't indicate failure of the treatment, but offers the person to correct themselves quickly and move on." People get restored to normalcy when they stop doing what harms them. "Relapse is just the brain taking time to reboot to way it was before [the addiction/s]," says Mehul, who now maintains a circle of few, close friends that don't engage in discussing women, sexually.
Despite relapsing, many like Merwin, Henry and Mehul are determined to fight their addictions with resilience. Merwin is going strong, despite surviving his third massive heart attack about a month ago. Henry feels lucky for not having contracted Hepatitis C or HIV, despite using shared needles for drug injection. He sings, plays the guitar and volleyball, goes clubbing without getting high like everyone around him, and is associated with a de-addiction centre, and at 22, counsels "people older than my father". But he gets exhausted after a 15-minute run when few years ago a 90-minute game of football, for him, was a breeze. "But I have no regrets, except slapping my mother," he recalls with remorse.
Do they manage sobriety with elan? For Mehul, every day is a challenge. "Just yesterday, I fought the urge to call this escort I'd slept with before." Instead now, he plays sports, treks and even sponsor a child's education to achieve that feel-good factor. "Sometimes I crave for it," says Henry. "Then I remember my horrible withdrawals and call my sponsor [mentor, ex-user who has completely recovered] instead. For us [recovering addicts], one [puff] is too much and a 1,000, never enough."
The standard 90-day 12-step recovery program from any addiction is what most de-addiction centres abide by. In a bid to salvage dropouts and relapses, Kripa, however, takes a more holistic approach. "We've modified the 12-step program that mainly teaches how to stay away from the first puff, keep buddies who are winners, and practice meditation." The program was tweaked to make it engaging for young users. "In 1981, we received patients between 45 to 55 years old. Now, people young as 14 to 24-year-olds walk in," says Fr Pereira, a pupil of BKS Iyengar, who also infuses Iyengar yoga techniques to the rehab program. NIMHANS has developed a "therapeutic alliance" – if the person doesn't get treated in the 90-day program or drops out, the counsellor continues to keep in touch with them, gradually encouraging them to join back. "A non-judgmental, empathetic approach is required to address the underlying problems that began the addiction in the first place," says Dr Murthy.
*Names changes to protect identity
