Any substance taken to modify perception, mood, cognition, behavior or motor functions, is called a drug.

The need for repeated doses of drug to feel good or to avoid feeling bad is a sign of dependence addiction. Repeated usage of a drug, results in reduced effects or tolerance, and greater doses are needed to have the same psychoactive effect.The present efforts made by various Government agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations, medical practitioners and philanthropists in the area of drug demand reduction(de-addiction) are like blocking a furiously advancing avalanche with the fence of straw; or try to touch the moon by kite-flying! Or controlling the rising flood waters of the river by filling pitchers! Statistical studies are no doubt needed to understand the position of any problem, but it is no use digging the well when the house is on fire.When there is a war, the goal is to win the war, no matter how one wins. So, all out efforts are necessary to root out drug addiction.

The initiatives should be implemented by honest people on a grand scale. The process of de-addiction from addiction is like driving a vehicle in the reverse gear. …It is slow and has to be done with extra care! Are the present day de-addiction processes conducive to contain the drug-menace and have the intrinsic strength to make this world drug-free?The first thing you need to understand about addiction is, drugs are basically ‘pain-killers’. Drugs chemically ‘kill’ physical and emotional pain. For drugs to be attractive to a person there must be some underlying happiness, sense of hopelessness, insurmountable problems or even physical pain. Peer-pressure or sheer boredom can also be the factors in trying drugs, but these alone don’t cause addiction.

When drug addicts are in the depths of their disease, they are notorious for becoming manipulative and devious in order to get what they want.Addicts lie; they steal, borrow and do whatever they need in order to keep their addiction fed. They are often very intelligent and creative individuals with great potential. They begin to feel worst about themselves as a result of their current actions, so they do it again to forget about it. Eventually the cycle of addiction has progressed to the point where all they think about is the next dose of the drug. Nothing else mattes…no family, home, work, life, self-respect, self-sufficiency or safety—nothing!It isn’t long that the user moves into full-blown addiction, and feels the need to use the drug constantly.

Drug menace is no more a regional or National problem. It is one of the gravest international issues. Drug-addition is like the octopus—growing fast in all the directions. The de-addiction process has several angles, and each individual has to be studied in detail, as for the backgrounder, before embarking upon the remedial measures.One of the important methods to make the individual addiction-free is the spiritual method, the importance of which has been recognized by international Agencies like UNODC. The spiritual therapy: The purpose is to bring about education in drug demand and transform the drug-afflicted society into an abuse-free society, where people are mentally, emotionally, and spiritually strong to stand against all odd circumstances, so as to guard themselves and the society against drug and substance abuse.

The aims and objectives of such a spiritual therapy are as under:To promote application of Meditation therapy, to bring about drug demand reduction; To educate people about the ill effects of substance abuse on the individual, the family and the society at large; to evolve culture-specific and spiritually oriented models for the prevention of substance abuse and the treatment and rehabilitation of addicts; to increase the scope and application of spirituality and Yoga-therapy in drug abuse prevention; to initiate correctional and rehabilitation measures for the drug-dependants. Preventive methods are more important than the actual treatment of addicts.Towards this end, work-place prevention and education program aims at prevention of drugs in the workplace and educate the staff to be sensitive towards their subordinates, witnessing such problems. Community Education Programs educate people about dangers and enormous social and personal cost of Drug Abuse and the legal penalties that await Drug-Abusers. In School Environment Sensitization Program, lectures, sessions and spiritual workshops are undertaken to impart education on drugs to the youth in the schools and colleges and other educational/vocational institutions.Programs are initiated for sensitization of the teachers, parents and the peer groups in a school environment.

Unfortunately, de-addiction process and program have become yet another industry, to fleece the gullible drug-addicts. One’s position after addiction becomes so hopeless, both the victim and members of his family, that it turns out to be a do-or-die situation. Many over-the –counter medications claim the complete cure, but such medicines suppress the ‘disease’ for a few weeks and the patient is back to square one thereafter.The avalanche of drug de-addiction centers work not with a mission, but for commission! (For the sake of money). The topmost point in the agenda for the drug-addict to reform is one’s will-power. There is no substitute for it.

Narconon Southern California Drug Rehabilitation Centre is one of the reputed institutions that help the addicts in the de-addiction process. “Narconon staff knows with certainty, that most drug addicts are basically good people. It is the crippling manifestation of drug addiction that changes the character and decays the ethics and morals of people who are addicted to drugs. ”(Drug…..

.)The important thrust of this Organization is to educate the people about the evil results of the addiction. “The Narconon program is neither a psychiatric nor medical program. It is a social education model of rehabilitation.

The treatment steps are entirely drug-free; that is, the Narconon program does not use drugs or medications to solve the problems caused by drugs, but do use nutrition and nutritional supplements as an important component of its treatment. ”(Drug…. ) They report a success rate of 76%. A drug-addict needs to have full faith that a 100% drug-free life is possible and substance medications are not the solutions at all.The drug rehabilitation centre that does not use the drugs of any kind is assumed to be he best treatment. Many of the drug rehabilitation centers make the identical claims, all promise complete cure.

(Who will visit the centre if partial cure is promised? ) Before deciding upon the drug rehabilitation centre, the backgrounder information of the drug-addict demands analysis. The process of addiction needs to be studied in detail. The choice of rehabilitation centre is as important as the treatment itself. “Different drug and alcohol rehab centers have different philosophies.

This is an important factor that you need to consider when choosing treatment. It is the foundation of the drug treatment program. You need to know what their philosophy on addiction is & do they think it can be cured? ”(Drug rehab…) The word drug-addiction has a wide connotation. It is primarily the disease of the mind. No two drug addicts are alike.

The duration of the addiction also plays an important role. “Drug rehab treatment centers have a variety of different models. There are out-patient programs, residential in-patient programs, drop in meetings, detox clinics, etc” (Drug Rehab…) .For an expert and experienced counselor, it is possible to determine the appropriate type of treatment needed. The drug-addiction in majority of the cases is, problem-related. Unable to cope up with the intensity of the suffering on account of the problem, the individual seeks an escape, what if it is temporary.

When he consumes drugs as an escape-route, one does not realize that one is going to miss the righteous path in life for ever. One complication leads to several other complications, until the individual is lost on all counts, health, wealth and happiness!Since sound judgment is the first casualty for an addict, one goes on making one wrong decision after another. Drug-addiction is not a bad disease; it is a bad choice. But the consequences of one such a bad choice go beyond one’s control.

It is just like a driver losing control of the vehicle. And every drug-addict develops certain connections and lives in an environment that is favorable to his diseased mind, which has lost the power to think rationally. Drug is an expert hypnotizer. The greatest enemy of the drug-addict is the addict himself.From step one, he begins to cheat himself, and stage by stage he begins to cheat others.

He is to be pitied for this development rather than condemned. His success curve in life has abruptly stopped and it begins to drop down, because no-drug addict can be an efficient employee or a professional. To control the inner-feelings he increases the dose of drugs. “There will a point when he/she won't be able to get the same release that the drug provided in the beginning stages of their using. In the case of hard drugs, this is a critical cause of overdose.In the case of lighter drugs, the danger is reaching for stronger, more addictive drugs to once again achieve a release.

’’(Drug rehab…) Counseling Counseling is an important aspect of de-addiction process. Intoxication, in reality is essence-less and it the duty of the counselor to make the drug-addict realize this fact. By the time the realization dawns on him, the situation often goes out of control. .He is like the one caught in the quicksand, desperately struggling, but unable to come out of his own…In this context, the grit of the counselor and the determination of the drug-addict to reform must work complementarily.

The addict can be reformed and rehabilitated with such an approach and with the experience of the divinity within. The process of internal-awakening is the beginning of the retreat of the Satan, the Controller of Drugs! Counseling needs to be converted into an ongoing process, form part of the education of children. The parents should openly discuss the drug-issue with the children. The parents need to set an example first, as children observe the traits and habits of the parents very carefully.

The second natural counselor is the teacher, whose interaction with the students is invaluable.The teacher commands respect as well as authority and has a role in shaping the career of the children. The student needs to be made conscious about the grave implication of consuming drugs. “It is not more confined to the affluent as was initially perceived. A number of addicts are reporting for treatment from such population groups as slum dwellers, laborers, transport operators, petty shopkeepers, rickshaw-pullers, etc. The social implication of such a trend is most ominous for a developing country, which is still struggling to overcome its basic problems of poverty, disease and deprivation.

” (Counseling…)Apart from the treatments detailed above, the panacea for a drug-addict to come out of addiction once for all is as follows: There are three levels of human personality: Physical, Mental/Intellectual and Spiritual. The Physical Level: Along the backbone of an individual, there are five plexus. Whenever one is engrossed in meditation, these five plexus get activated. They begin to work like a dynamo. Once made functional, they recharge our body. They provide power, strength and energy.

These activated plexus reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the blood; the vital energy in the body is thus increased. Each and every cell of the body gets energized. The mind and the spiritual centers radiate brilliance. New waves of energy begin to flow into them. The level of oxygen increases in the blood.

With the proper supply of blood, the clots are removed; the tissues get re-constructed and they get a new life. The Mind/ Intellectual Level: The psychology of the drug addict is that he will die if he doesn’t get the dose of intoxication.This thought settles in the addict’s mind. Means are not important to him, right or wrong, he employs them to get what he wants-the drugs. At this juncture the Counselor has the important role.

The addict needs to be made internally strong and the roots of fear need to be removed from the addict’s mind. The fear of death haunts the mind of every drug addict. The counseling as for a new thought orientation needs to be given and mind’s perspective changed! To implant the spiritual ideas and ideals is one of the best options. The addict will then find a new meaning to life.Through meditation one gets the soul-force and all negativities fall asunder facing the glow of this force. The Spiritual Level: Every action has the reaction and the intensity of the reaction is in proportion to the intensity of the action.

Over this, no dispute exists between the spiritualists and the scientists. One of the rare agreements between the two contending forces; the two opposing forces; the forces that do not see eye to eye with each other! The life of an individual, one’s day to day disposition, depends to a great extent on his actions.So, when the addict’s thoughts process begins to change, his action process will also be noble! Such actions can produce only noble reactions. Spiritual vibrations will begin to zoom in and around the reformed drug-addict. World over, apart from the professional drug de-addiction centers, philanthropic and Non-Governmental Organizations are taking the lead to rid the society of, perhaps the greatest evil, that mostly threatens the combustible younger-generation.

Nothing can be more harmful for the degeneration of the Nation, than the de-moralized and character-less young generation.As observed by Dr. Choue, in an international conference of NGOs, “In the processes of industrialization, urbanization, informatization and globalization, the human communities have lost sight of common values in forming a cohesive whole and, as a result, all sorts of social contradictions and conflicts manifest themselves. A sense of collectivity is disappearing, ethical norms are tattered; and such social ills as environmental decay, poverty, racial and social discrimination, and violence, which threaten co-prosperity of humanity are all the more prevalent.

” (Choue, 2000)The de-addiction process can also be hastened by the strong will of the Government of any country to control drug cultivation and the tools that are conducive to encourage the drug trade. Globalization and fast means of transport and communication have rendered the globe very small. Assume that there is a drug-free country, surrounded by a drug producing country. Trafficking drugs from that country may render the perfect drug-discipline in the good country, liable to be contaminated. So, all the peace-loving nations have to work hand in hand to root out the corrupt influences arriving from any corner of the world.

“The general political context also shapes drug supply. Drug cultivation thrives on instability, corruption and poor governance. The world’s biggest drug producing centers are in regions beyond the control of the central government, like South Afghanistan, South West Columbia and East Myanmar. Until government control, democracy and the rule of law are restored, these regions will remain nests of insurgency and drug production—and represent the biggest challenge to containment”(Costa, 2007) Hence the drug de-addiction process is a long drawn-out battle, but the efforts to combat the same need to go on relentlessly.

Lethargy on this account has dangerous social implications. Conclusion: Good results through the de-addiction process detailed above are an attainable reality. From the brink of disaster and death, the people have recovered and they lead a normal life and having been reformed, they are reforming the others. The drug-situation in many countries is out of hand, but not out of control! A stitch in time will save the world. Otherwise, God forbid, we do not need the atom bombs to destroy the world.

The ‘drug-bombs’ would be sufficient to inflict the ultimate damage!