Our sleepy Goa is always linked to drug abuse and hippies and western holidayers along the coasts of Anjuna, Baga, Arpora or Palolem and Agonda. But recent reports suggest drugs in the hinterland — in the quiet villages of Salcete, Quepem, Sanguem and Sanvordem.
“Generally in villages like Assolna, Velim, Betul and Chinchinim, families went to bed by 9 pm and the village would go completely quiet by 10pm except for a little traffic on the highway, a few kms away from the village. But now you have boys doing weed and other drugs along the street lights or sitting by the river banks or by the fields,” explains Gerald Viegas from Betul who roams around at night shooing away what he feels are anti-social elements who engage in drugs.
Similarly Jeremy Dias, who lives in Borda, explains how college going youngsters zoom down his lane and gather together besides a paddy field near his house and do drugs of various kinds. He finds it hard to round them up or complaint to the cops because of the slow reaction time of the police in Margao.
Denis Dias from Curchorem explains how it’s not just college kids who are engaging in drugs but also young adults who have nothing to do in a state like Goa.
“My son is an NRI and works on the ship for nine months and is in Goa for three months after his trip on the high seas. And he has nothing much to do in Goa. No short term courses, no sports academies which are government run. So he ventures to catch up with friends at bars. He often has stories to tell me how his ‘shippy’ friends, when down in Goa, venture to casinos to gamble or chose drugs which are readily available through peddlers who even have WhatsApp groups,” explains Denis.
A young adult of 27 years from Quepem, who frequently engages in drug abuse, explains how he feels that the younger age group of teenagers have free use of bikes and cars which their parents give them and they’re able to travel to Palolem, Agonda and even up north to Anjuna during college hours and purchase and abuse drugs. Hence they turn carriers of the drug menace back to their villages. The problem, however, he feels is that the parents are to be blamed for not keeping a check on where their kids go and what they purchase from their monthly pocket money.
Counsellor Jeris Dsouza from Margao says that parents are often disconnected from the purchasing power of food, stationary and commute which are a child’s needs and how much allowances they need to give their children and how much they should not give and the this excess purchasing power allows children to experiment. And also the availability of drug abuse data and videos on the Internet which again is unregulated by parents leads to complete chaos in terms of drug abuse and that’s the reason why drug abuse is spreading beyond tourists and the coastal belt.
A police constable attached to the Maina Curtorim police station explains how parents are unaware if they’re child is at college, studying with friends, or attending a movie, at the beach, or abusing drugs or alcohol. It’s often the case when we apprehend youth out late night and hang out in groups with cars and bikes with no licences and lots of money with them. And most of this group of children is abusing drugs, supplying drugs to their peers or selling it others. But even worse there are no forums for parents or drug abuse teenagers or young adults struggling through drug abuse to address these issues.
