Opium byproducts gives them a kick

Recent hauls of opium and arrests of farmers for its cultivation across the state is clear indication of the drug menace we all thought was over or subdued. It has now emerged that Shirur, a town which is barely 80 km away from us, is the hub for distribution of opium seeds across the state. In the backdrop of these revelations, DNA team brings you a series on the drug scene in the city.

The series will reveal how our youngsters are still being consumed by the drugs, the current trends, their ramifications, how the money changes hands and who all are involved. The series will profile case studies cutting across social strata and will give you an insight into the underbelly of this menace which is still lurking

Opium cultivation and the arrests of farmers that the state witnessed in the recent past, the last one being the one at Shirur surely indicates that opium is one of the most common drug forms that the addicts of the city consume.

When DNA carried out investigations, it was understood that though direct consumption of opium is not prevalent among the Puneites, the byproducts of opium are hot entities among the addicts. The ‘opium drug addicts’ are aged between 14 and 60 years.

“Direct consumption of opium is rare. However, the addiction to cough syrups which comprises codeine of the opium seeds is high among the addicts, especially among the teenagers who can easily access to it,” said Ajay Dudhane, president of the Anandvan de-addiction-cum-rehabilitation center.

While speaking to few users of cough syrups as addiction, it was found that the easy availability of cough syrups and its low cost was the reason that most addicts get hooked on to it.

“I started using cough syrups for addiction at the age of 16 years when I was introduced to this form by my friends. One entire bottle emptied two times a day gave me a high and made me feel dizzy and relaxed,” said 18-year-old Ashish Vohra. The two most used cough syrups were Korex and Phensedyl.

According to psychiatrist, Dr Hemant Chandorkar, eight out of ten cough syrups contain codeine. “The presence of codeine in the cough syrups make them dangerous for users as the addicts over consume it to feel the high,” he said.

While cough syrups are regarded as a lethal form of opium drugs because of its impacts on teenagers and youngsters, brown sugar which is also known as BS or Garda and derived from opium, has also attained an epidemic form in the city.

DNA spoke to Jeet Sankla (53), who has been addicted to brown sugar for the past twenty years. “I first got addicted to brown sugar after my school friend procured it from the Patil Estate slum in Shivaji Nagar. I have been addicted to it since then and have been snorting brown sugar 8-9 times a day,” he said. “For brown sugar has been a must as without it my joints ache and I get restless and violent,” he added.

Brown Sugar has been a very prevalent drug among the slum dwellers as it is cheap and the snorts help them relax. Presently in the city, the two varieties of brown sugar are found to be used by the addicts. The ‘Taka Maal’ is available at Rs100/gm whereas a better quality of the same product is available at Rs150/gm.

Another byproduct of opium that is though not very common among the users, but is found in few pockets of the city is heroin or ‘safed gudiya’. Being costly, the drug is preferred mostly by the higher sections of the society.

“Heroin is not common among the city drug addicts. However, we have heroin addicts in our center which proves users of the drug exist in the city,” Dudhane said. “Earlier, heroin was very much available in the city. However, the peddlers have turned very cautious in dealing with the heroin trade. We hardly have places where heroin can be scored from. The peddlers follow a mobile way of being in touch with their customers in places which are changed in every meeting,” said a former peddler.

Speaking about other by products of opium, Sanjay Bhagwat, project co-ordinator of Muktangan Rehabilitation Center, said that morphine and fortwin injections are also used by the addicts.

What appeared shocking was that most of the users of morphin and fortwin were medicine practitioners, doctors and nurses.

“These two components are available very easily and, hence, they are the ones who get addicted to it. We have patients who are morphin and fortwin addicts in our center,” Bhagwat said.

When contacted, a senior police inspector from the Anti-Narcotics Cell, Pune, said that cases of cough syrups users have not been registered in the records.“Of late, youngsters have been found to be users of whitener. However, these cases do not come under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and, hence, we have not conducted any arrests. As far as heroin cases are concerned, they are less,” he said.
(Names of the addicts changed on request)