Abstract:
Drug abuse among juveniles is a dominant problem which is increasing constantly. The most of the population of juvenile offenders are drug abusers, who engage themselves into crimes like murder, rape, theft, burglary, etc., which also leads to increased crime rate in a country. This research paper explores the issue of drug abuse among juveniles and the role judicial system. In this study, the term “drug” is defined comprehensively, and the study also classifies a definition of juvenile under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015. The paper aims to study the factors responsible for the drug abuse among juveniles and its consequences on an individual, and a how a drug addiction can destroy someone’s life. The paper emphasizes the factors such as poverty, illiteracy, broken family, less parental care, experimental qualities, etc. This paper also describes how a person becomes a drug abuser and fells into crimes, it also deeply describes the different kinds of drugs used by the drug abusers such as cocaine, stimulant, alcohol, opioid, heroin, tobacco, etc. This research paper aims to study the problem or techniques to get overcome those drug addiction problems, the paper discusses the various ways in which justice system played a vital role in solving the problems by taking few measure steps such as preventing, intervening, and rehabilitating juvenile drug offenders. The papers deeply studies about the policies, programs and Acts introduced by the government to reduce the drug abuse. The paper also talks about the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015, and the limitations of the act and the challenges faced by the government to overcome the problem.
In conclusion, the research paper talks about the few measures taken by government in order to overcome the crimes committed by drug offenders or improving their conditions. Few suggestions were also suggested.
Key words: Drug abuse, Juvenile, Act, Cocaine, Consequences, Preventing
Introduction:
Drug abuse among juveniles is a significant concern in the country with many young people experimenting with drugs at an early age. Drug abuse is a very dangerous and threatening to human life, it affects not only the life of an individual but also affects family, friends, society and many other people involved directly and indirectly.
Drugs means a chemical substance that is consumed, injected, inhaled, or smoked, which people use to give them pleasant or exciting feelings and drugs makes physiological and psychological changes in one’s body.
The drug usage is not a new practice, it is an ancient activity. It was found in different forms such as alcohol known as madira, it was consumed by kings and queens, they consumed it occasionally, other than alcohol, others form of drugs was also available in that time such as, mead, cannabis (the source of marijuana) opium or poppy seeds, etc. The usage of drugs also found its ways into religious and cultural traditional activities of some communities, for example- some communities from Rajasthan use alcohol to make their god (Bheru baba) happy. But during the earlier times, the usage of drugs never become an evolving issue or a widespread problem. In the earlier 80’s, after the introduction of processed drugs, like Cocaine, Heroin, Cannabis, the practices of drug usages increased among certain communities, groups or professions. Now the drug usage has been on rise in India and becoming a serious problem, which needs an attention on urgent basis. According to UNICEF, it has identified that the active number of drugs users fall under the age group of 14-20 years. And India has a largest number of children and youth population in the world, involving themselves in drug abuse. And this is becoming a serious issue for India. We cannot ignore the reasons which are causing and increasing drug abuse such as: Poverty, society, peer groups, broken family, experiment, less parental care, etc. This paper aims to study the factors responsible for drug addition of juveniles to find out the scope of rehabilitation and reformation.
Research Methodology:
This research paper is descriptive in nature and the research is based on interdisciplinary approach for deep analysis of types, uses and consequences of drugs abuse among juveniles with the help of few acts.
Secondary sources of information like newspapers, journals, articles and websites are used for the research.
Juveniles Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015
According to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, a juvenile is defined under section 2(12) as a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years. The Act also defines a child in conflict with the law as a juvenile who is alleged to have committed an offence or has been found guilty of committing an offence. This act broadens the scope of the word juvenile. The section 2(13) and section 2(14) differentiate between child in conflict with law and child in care and protection. Whereas section 2(35) defines juveniles as every child who has not completed the age of 18 years might be a child with conflict of law or might be a child in need of care and protection.
The Juvenile Drugs Crime Cycle:
For more than two decades, researchers, and social workers of children welfare have known the link between juvenile crime and drug use. The majority of juveniles currently entering the justice system are drug users. In other researches it came out that, juvenile drug usage is a result of poverty, societies like living in slums, lack of parental care, broken family, etc. which often leads to poor health, worsening school performance, destroying family relationships and eventually this increases their tendency to become homeless and street children.
Once a child is introduced to drugs and starts abusing drugs, then a child automatically chooses the road of crime to continue his addiction and becomes a child in conflict with law. And sometimes these addictions take the child away from his family or relatives who try to intervene in their addiction, and then the drug addicted become homeless making them child in need of care and protection. And in future these children engage themselves in crimes like theft, murder, attempt to murder, sale of drugs, rape, burglary, etc. Children from most of the sector or class are being exposed to this drug threat but the most of the children who are involved in drug abuse are from slums as they have different and bad surrounding that eventually brings them in contract with group of people who are involved in illegal activities. And most of the children of slums are self- dependent, they don’t have anybody to look after them. These factors put them into perilous situation.
The Factors Contributing to Juveniles Drug Abuse:
There are many factors contributing to the juvenile drug abuse such as social economic factors, family dynamics, peer pressure and mental health issues. Few of the examples are mentioned below:
Poverty: India is a developing country, most of the population of India are under the poverty line and living in slums, in order to fulfill their basic necessities, people engage themselves in illegal activities. And because of poverty their children also get involved in illegal activities such as drugs sale or abuse etc.
Illiteracy: Due to their addiction to the drugs, juveniles face many problems in their academics. Most of the drug abusers are from slums, they depend on daily wages, it is hard for them fulfill their basic necessities like cloth, food and water, and because of their poverty they were not able to give importance to their studies, which leads to increase in illiteracy rate. Thus, the children unable to go to school remains unaware of the consequences of drug abuse.
Society: Society plays a very important role in drug abuser’s life, people form a different mentality towards a drug abuser, they treat him/her differently. After released from juvenile home, the child suffers from depression, social anxiety, stress disorder and they stand to use drug again, to lessen the stress feeling.
Profit motive: The drug abusers are used to sell the drugs. The drug dealers use the abusers to sell their drugs, first, they provide a psychological seeking of drugs to adolescence, and then they sell drugs to others. As the drug abusers become habitual of drugs, they were not able to stop themselves from buying the expensive drugs because of these reasons owner makes profit in lakhs and crores. Because of the high demand of drugs, juveniles were used in drug peddling.
Experiment: During the teenage period, children often think themselves as an adult, and they try different things without the approval of their parents which sometimes lead them into problem. To seek new experience, juveniles try or intake alcohol, or drugs etc. and in order to become thrilling or daring they consume drugs often and got addicted to it.
Less parental care: Parents plays a very important role in juvenile’s life. They control, guide, or take decision for their children. Nowadays both the parents are working, so they were not able to give time to their children, which leads a child to do inappropriate activities and become a prey to drug abuse.
Media: In today’s time, media plays a important role in everyone’s life, children mostly watch T.V., listens music, which encourages smoking, alcohol consumption, and many of the music videos show the drug abusers, drug intake videos, which seems cool to the children without the knowledge of its consequences, and then they tries to initiate that videos and starts taking drugs.
Drugs used by juveniles are:
There are many different types of drugs which are used by juveniles such as tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, pen, glue, paint, household cleaners etc.
- Stimulants:
“Stimulants or “uppers” impact the body’s central nervous system (CNS), causing the user to feel as if they are “speeding up.” These drugs increase the user’s level of alertness, pumping up heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and blood glucose levels. Stimulants often come in pill form but are also consumed via snorting or even as food and drink. For example, caffeine is found in many beverages, and cocaine is a snorted powder”.
- Opioids:
“Among the most addictive types of drugs, opioids are powerful painkillers that produce a sense of euphoria. Derived from the poppy plant, opioids are often prescribed to patients who are suffering from intense pain. They are extremely habit-forming, and it may only take a couple of weeks to become physically addicted to these types of drugs. In some rare instances, studies have demonstrated that it is possible to become addicted after just one dose of an opioid. Opioids can be smoked, eaten, drank, injected or taken as pills. Examples of opioids include: Heroin, Morphine, Opium”
- Depressants:
“Like stimulants, depressants also impact the body’s CNS but with the opposite effect, making users feel as if things are “slowing down.” Thus, they are often called “downers” on the street. These drugs often offer a sedative experience, making them a tempting choice for teens and adults who wish to escape everyday stresses. Examples: Alcohol, tobacco.”
- Hallucinogens:
“Hallucinogens are a class of drugs that alter a person’s perception of reality. They work by disrupting brain activity, affecting mood, sensory perception and muscle control. They can be made synthetically or found naturally.”
- Inhalants:
“Mostly made up of everyday household items, these drugs cause brief feelings of euphoria. As the name suggests, inhalants are always inhaled as gases or fumes. The “highs” slightly differ between inhalants, but most people who abuse inhalants are willing to huff whatever substance they can get. Example of inhalants include: Fumes of markers, paint, paint thinner, gasoline and glue, Nitrous oxide, Aerosol sprays, Room deodorizers.”
- Cannabis:
“Most commonly recognized as marijuana, cannabis acts like a hallucinogen but also produces depressant-like effects. It is a Schedule I drug (i.e., it has a high potential for addiction) but has increasing medicinal uses in the United States. Still, marijuana is often abused by those who do not medically require it.
Cannabis can be smoked, vaporized and even eaten if the THC is first rendered from the plant matter. Examples of cannabis include: Marijuana leaves, Hashish, Hash oil.”
Consequences of Drug Abuse Among Juveniles:
The impact factor of drug and substance abuse in the juveniles effects the whole of India. The severe consequences of drug abuse cause physical health implication, psychological and emotional effects, academic performance and school attendance and legal consequence.
- Physical health implications: Drug use can lead to serious health issues. It decreases the ability of brain and leads to causes many diseases, the drug abuser is not able to think properly and pay attention to anything and often fells into a problem.
- Usages of drug causes tends to unprotected sex with the strangers. This sexual activity engages commission of rape, risk of pregnancy.
- Drug abuse often leads to face discrimination in society, faces mental health issues, depression, anxiety, and leading to a cycle of dependency and emotional instability.
- The drug uses affects the body badly, and becomes the reason for heart attacks, halted breathing, mental sick, liver disease, cancer, stroke, acne infection, etc.
- Most of the youth drug abusers, are involved in committing crime such as theft, burglary, murder etc.
- Many juveniles are become a hired for cash, some are committing crime.
- Drug abuse damage learning problem, it leads to short term and long-term memory loss later in child life.
Role of Justice System:
The justice system plays a very important role in addressing drug abuse among drug abusers by preventing, intervening, and rehabilitating juvenile or adult drug offenders. Here are few aspects of the justice system’s role in drug abuse:
Government introduces many acts, policies and programs for drug awareness among people such as NASHA MUKHT BHARAT CHAMPAIGN, this champaign is designed to raise awareness among all citizens including the youths and juveniles, but few problems were also evolved with this such as, that it did not reach properly to the juveniles. Once the ground level intervention is completed the possibility of juvenile justice system in comprehending the rehabilitation and reformation of drug addict juveniles with special needs can be possible.
Government of India also introduced the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015. The act specifically in Section 93, speaks about special institution for juveniles who are drug addicts and proper rehabilitation and reformation of such juveniles. This institution is responsible for the safety and reformation of juveniles and has the authority in decisions of case management, sanctions, and treatments. While addressing juveniles drug offenders, government tries to mandate a child-friendly approach, reflecting a broader societal commitment to treating young offenders as victims of circumstances rather than criminals.
Government also takes some preventive measures to overcome the problem of drug abuse. Various government and non-governmental organizations collaborate to implement educational programs in schools and communities, aiming to raise awareness about the dangers of drug abuse and the legal repercussions involved. These initiatives are designed to educate and aware the youngsters with the knowledge to avoid the consequences of substance abuse. Additionally, law enforcement agencies engage in community policing, building trust and rapport with local populations to identify and assist at-risk youth before they fall into the cycle of addiction and criminal behavior.
Apart from these policies, Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) are established across the country to resolve the cases involving minors, ensuring that proceedings are conducted in a manner that respects their developmental needs and potential for reform. The government is also focusing on counseling, therapy, and educational opportunities. The Rehabilitation centers and de-addiction programs are designed for juveniles play a crucial role in this regard, offering structured environments where young offenders can receive medical treatment, psychological support, and vocational training to facilitate their reintegration into society.
Despite these efforts, the justice system faces few challenges in dealing with juvenile drug abuse. The socio-economic factors such as poverty, lack of education, and broken family structures, makes comprehensive enforcement and rehabilitation a difficult task. Furthermore, there is a problem of delay in cases, lack of focus on root cause, availability of infrastructure, shortage of adequately trained personnel, resources and funding dedicated to juvenile justice, which affects the effectiveness of existing programs and initiatives. In order to overcome these problems, the government has introduced few changes, this includes better training for law enforcement officers, social workers, and judicial officials on dealing with juvenile drug cases, as well as increased funding for rehabilitation centers and preventive education programs. Collaboration with international bodies and the adoption of best practices from other countries are also being explored to strengthen India’s approach to juvenile drug abuse.
The role of the justice system in addressing juvenile drug abuse in India is comprehensive and multi-dimensional, focusing on prevention, rehabilitation, and systemic reform. While significant steps have been made in creating a child-centric legal framework and support system, ongoing efforts and enhancements are necessary to effectively combat this complex issue. By continually adapting and improving its strategies, the justice system aims to protect the future of India’s youth and foster a healthier, drug-free generation.
Recommendations or suggestion:
While the Juvenile Justice Act faces few problems in India among drug abusers, I would recommend some of the improvement, discussed below:
- According to me, the government should increase funding for evidence-based prevention programs.
- Government should also introduce early intervention and diversion programs for children with special needs.
- Government should provide access to rehabilitation services, including treatment and counselling.
- They should offer reentry support and services to juvenile drug offenders.
- They should try eliminate the root cause of drug abuse.
- The act should be implemented more efficiently, and it has to be ensured that it is regularly monitored to achieve desired outcome.
Conclusion:
The drug abuse among juveniles is increasing day by day because of so many reasons. In India many policies, programs and acts were introducing to control the rate of drug abuse among the country but the crime rates are increasing constantly. Indian government is also collaborating with international agencies to combat the drug abuse, but all these measure steps are lacking behind somewhere, and were not able to provide proper care to juvenile offender.
The punishments for heinous crimes committed by juveniles for offences like sexual abuse is too less and because of less punishments, the juveniles got the audacity to commit crime. Hence, the rate of crime is increasing constantly. To reduce these crime rate, rigorous punishments must be given to juveniles and to their parents as well. The parents must be in a position to control and teach their child and prevent them from doing these acts. And the drug traders should also be punished for doing illegal business. And special emphasis should be given on generating awareness policies for the juveniles, not only awareness but surveillance and strict implantation of legislation are also important.
References:
- Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015
- Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, https://www.health.gov.au/topics/drugs/about-drugs/types-of-drugs, (July 11, 2024, 21:23 PM)
- Suchi Ramteke, Substance abuse and crimes: Affecting the youth of the country, Legal Service India,,(July 11, 2024, 10:5 PM),Legal Service India, https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-6740-substance-abuse-and-crimes-affecting-the-youth-of-the-country.html
- Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930
- Pooja, Garima, Japneet, Gayatri, The Drug Addiction in Juvenile Delinquents – A Case Study, Haryana police, (July 11, 2024, 10:30 PM) https://haryanapolice.gov.in/policejournal/pdf/drug_addiction.pdf
- Debarati Indu, A Critical Impact Analysis of Drug Abuse by the Juveniles of Indian Slums, [Vol. 5 Issue 2; 1320], International Journal of Law Management and Humanities, 2022, https://www.ijlmh.com/wp-content/uploads/A-Critical-Impact-Analysis-of-Drug-Abuse-by-the-Juveniles-of-Indian-Slums.pdf
AUTHOR:
Sakshi Kirad
Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, GGSIPU