AP, Telangana Rank High In Drug-Related Suicides : NCRB:- In the number of people committing suicide from drug abuse or addiction, the two Telugu speaking states Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ranked high.

A total of 478 people in 2014 and 2015, committed suicide because of drug abuse or addiction. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), AP stood in fifth place in the country in 2015, in drug-related suicides, while Telangana in 2014 emerged at fifth place in suicides from drug abuse.

AP accounts for 4.41% with 162 deaths including three women, while Telangana accounts for 2.72% of the 3,670 suicides, including six women, that were reported in the country in 2015 linked to drug abuse and addiction.

In 2015, Maharashtra had the highest number of drug-related suicides with over 1,270 deaths and in 2014 with 1,372 deaths. Because of the drug abuse, the State accounts for almost 40% of the suicides. In 2015, 22 people including two women committed suicide from drug abuse in Hyderabad city, while seven in Vijayawada and one in Vizag ended their lives in drug related suicides, said the NCRB.

“The drug addiction has been identified as a major risk factor for suicide. The high penetration of drugs makes people vulnerable to accidental deaths”, says Dr S. Radha Rani, a psychiatrist.

In AP, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in 2015 a total of 690 cases were reported in AP, while the number increased to 1,040 in 2016. Till date, over 400 cases have been reported in 2017.

The police and excise officials say the potential source of drugs-opium, cocaine and brown sugar entering the nation were Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Only a few cases have been registered against drug trafficking in Vizag, Vijayawada and some other parts of AP by the police and excise officials. While many trafficking pool are spreading their trade in the state. A senior officer with Task Force Police said the higher consumption of costly drugs such as opium, cocaine and brown sugar are experienced by cities like Vizag, Vijayawada and Tirupati.

The usage of injectable sedative drugs such as Fortwin, Campose and Ketamine are also on the rise.

“Even though abuse of expensive drugs is relatively low compared to Hyderabad, Vizag, the cosmopolitan socio-cultural hub in Andhra Pradesh is emerging as the hub of the illegal trade in the new state,” said Dr Uma Raju of Greenvalley Foundation in Vizag that deals with substance-addicted patients.

SUPRAJA