Panaji: A 35-year-old businessman from Bardez, addicted to drugs for nearly 13 years, says it took years of relapses and recovery to return to normal life. A Class X student, when he first tried drugs at 15, he says he was introduced to the addiction by his girlfriend.“There is always a reason people get exposed — depression, broken relationships, family issues,” he said. He recalled initially avoiding friends who used drugs, but later became so dependent that he began supplying joints to friends when they couldn’t afford them.He said only his mother knows about his addiction; his wife, children, and other family members — including his father — are unaware. “It is difficult to leave drugs once they enter the body,” he said, adding that after trying to quit, he was drawn back again.He said he finally decided to quit when his mother fell ill, and the oldest son in the family died. “During the 10 years, I was off and on, but for the last seven years, I have been out of this addiction. Timely medicine and family support are the only two things that can help,” he said.A 43-year-old artist from Bardez said he was introduced to drugs at 25 while painting hotel walls in the coastal belt, where foreigners offered him substances, claiming they would improve focus and skill. “I started with ganja, but later reached a different level from where I did not see any hope to return,” he said.During the lockdown, he said he sold gold and borrowed money from family and friends to buy drugs as prices rose and work dried up. He said withdrawal was painful, but “willpower, medicine and counselling” helped him quit.A 36-year-old from Tiswadi said peer influence pulled him into drugs early. Living in Panaji with a group of five friends, including two girls, he said he first smoked a joint at seven, left education midway, and completed only Class X. “Need drugs” became his only focus, he said, pushing him to the coastal belt to earn to fund his habit.He said he often stayed away from home for nearly two months at a time, constantly high. “Earn money, buy drugs, and spend time — this was my routine,” he said. After the death of his older brother due to illness and his younger brother due to drugs, he decided to quit.All three told TOI that parents should closely monitor minor children and teenagers, warning that they are prime targets for the narcotics trade. They said it can be hard for parents to detect drug use until it escalates to injecting.They also urged youth not to try drugs “even as an experiment”. The businessman said that without addiction, he would have saved a crore of rupees, adding that many who fail to quit either die or “live in hell”.
