Despite the high-decibel campaign against selling, buying and consumption of marijuana, the number of teenagers smoking weed has increased heavily in the district. Senior officials with the Excise Department say the consumption of weed among the school students has increased heavily in the past few years as it is easily available at many places.
As per the official estimates, the department handles an average of 150 underage drug abuse cases every month in Ernakulam district for the past one-and-a-half years.
Despite the high rate of detection, the department, however, is yet to register any cases against these minors.
“Smoking weed has now become the favourite pastime of several school students, especially in the age group between 13 and 18. Most of them are not just customers but often double up as traffickers as well as sellers,” says Suresh Babu, Deputy Commissioner of Excise, Ernakulam.
According to the official, investigations have pointed to the operation of rackets that lure school students to try the narcotic or get involved in the supply chain. “The network of suppliers is very well connected to these youths and this way of selling marijuana at a personal level is making it difficult to trace the source,” he adds.
Senior officials say most of the marijuana being distributed among school students are brought from Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, which are priced much cheaper than the local variety. They say the cases are mostly among teenagers from places such as West Kochi, Kalamassery, Aluva and North Paravur.
The department is now planning to set up information boxes in schools across the district.
The first phase of the scheme, slated to begin in January, envisages setting up boxes in 100 schools in and around Kochi city.
Official sources attribute the problem to the failure of anti-addition clubs at schools. “Despite their much-hyped launch, these clubs have become inactive in most of the schools while the paucity of staff is holding back the department from coordinating and monitoring such activities,” they say.
