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What should be done about the heroin epidemic in India?

July 28, 2015 | High School, College
By Alexia Weitzel

Image by Sami Siva. India, 2015.

The fence along the India and Pakistan border seen near Khalra border post in Tarn Tarn area of Punjab. Heroin is sent to Punjab from Pakistan through the gaps in the barbed wire using a 6-inch diameter PVC pipe and chains. Image by Sami Siva. India/Pakistan border, 2014.

A counseling center for India's growing population of drug users. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Landscape seen near the line of control in Uri, a town where army and police posts are located on the Indian side of the border. Image by Sami Siva. Jammu and Kashmir, 2015.

Poster showing "hot spots"—places where heroin users shoot up in around Ajnala, Punjab—displayed at the Don Bosco Navjeevan Society, a local NGO in Punjab. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Bags containing heroin confiscated by the Jammu and Kashmir Police seen at the district police station in Uri. Image by Sami Siva. Jammu and Kashmir, 2015.

An IV drug user shows his veins at the counselling center run by Don Bosco Navjeevan Society in Ajnala. Image by Sami Siva. India,, 2014.

Poster displaying information on drug de-addiction center in Srinagar. Image by Sami Siva. Jammu and Kashmir, 2015.

Landscape surrounding hot spots—the area where heroin users shoot up, seen outside of Ajnala. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Daily life in Uri, on the way to Peace Bridge, the bridge that divides India and Pakistan in Kashmir. Image by Sami Siva. Jammu and Kashmir, 2015.

An IV drug user takes water from a stream to mix the heroin, which comes in granular form, at a hot spot. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Image by Sami Siva. Jammu and Kashmir, 2015.

Used needles seen at a hot spot. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Umesh Sharma, an addiction counselor (and former drug user) near his home in New Delhi. Image by Sami Siva. Jammu and Kashmir, 2015.

Rajesh Gill, 24, a village doctor, examines a woman with high fever at his clinic in Terri Village, just outside of Ajnala. Gill has been using heroin since 2012. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

A user demonstrates how brown sugar, a smokable form of heroin, is inhaled. Image by Sami Siva. Jammu and Kashmir, 2015.

Rajesh Gill, 24, seen with his two-year-old son at their home in Terri Village, just outside of Ajnala. Gill is a village doctor and has been using heroin since just after his son was born. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

A man passes by in his bicycle near a 'hot spot' - areas in town where heroin users go to inject the drug. Image by Sami Siva. Jammu and Kashmir, 2015.

Rajesh Gill, 24, a doctor from Terri, a small village near Ajnala, seen after shooting up heroin. Intravenous drug usage in Punjab has increased in the last few years as a large quantity of heroin has been smuggled from Pakistan to India along the porous borders of Punjab. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

The Pakistani truck confiscated by the Jammu and Kashmir Police with 114 Kgs of heroin seen through a window in the district police station in Uri. Image by Sami Siva. Jammu and Kashmir, 2015.

An IV drug user watches TV at the counseling center of Don Bosco Navjeevan Society in Ajnala. The users drop in to collect needles or just pass time at the center. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Counselors at the Don Bosco Navjeevan Society in Ajnala return to their office after the field visit, during which they distribute needles. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Landscape seen near the line of control in Uri, a town where army and police posts are located on the Indian side of the border. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Daily life in Uri, on the way to Peace Bridge, the bridge that links India and Pakistan in Kashmir. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Trade facilitation center in Salamabad in Uri. The trucks from Pakistan that cross the Peace Bridge and enter into the Indian side of Kashmir are stopped at the trade facilitation center for a customs check and the transfer of goods into trucks with Indian permits. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

The Pakistani truck confiscated by the Jammu and Kashmir Police with 114 kg of heroin seen through a window in the district police station in Uri. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Bags containing heroin confiscated by the Jammu and Kashmir Police seen at the district police station in Uri. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

A user demonstrates how brown sugar, a smokable form of heroin, is inhaled. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

Youth poses for a photograph at the drug de-addiction center in Srinagar where he is currently undergoing treatment. Image by Sami Siva. India, 2014.

A recovering drug addict shows the Spasmo Provon (commonly known as SP) tablets, a widespread choice among drug users. This prescription drug is given to pregnant women to reduce the pain during labor; recreational users normally take about 20-30 pills to get high. Image by Sami Siva. Srinagar, India, 2014.

Objective:

Students will develop a proposal for the Punjab and Kashmir governments in India to help prevent and eventually eliminate the heroin epidemic.  

Essential Question:  

What can be done to prevent the heroin epidemic in northern India?

Warm-up:  

1. Locate India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan on a map.  

2. Locate the northern states of Kashmir and Punjab.

3. Knowing the dangers of heroin, discuss, in groups of 4, why you think people would overwhelmingly choose to do heroin.

4. Why do you think this problem targets people in northern India?

5. Why is this problem not reported in the United States?

Introducing the Lesson:

The heroin epidemic is growing in northern India on the border between Pakistan and India. According to Pulitzer Center grantee Michael Edison Hayden, “As many as 70 percent of Punjabi males between the ages of 16 and 35 living in Amritsar are allegedly addicted. In Kashmir, official numbers haven't been taken, but it’s well known among residents that the issue is severe, and that the psychological pressures of living in a conflict zone are often self-medicated though opiates.”

This lesson will use all of the sources in the project. Read the introduction to gain basic knowledge of this particular topic. Then, view/read the following resources provided.  

  1. On the Border: Heroin Epidemic (video)
  2. North India's Heroin Epidemic (slideshow)
  3. Kashmir's War on Drugs (article)
  4. Kashmir's Heroin Highway (article).  

All articles were written by journalists from the Pulitzer Center, an organization that supports international journalism. We will analyze several sources to determine whether there is hope for India.

Conclusion:

Creating a Plan to Engage Our Communities

Create a proposal for the government that will help prevent and solve the drug problem in the northern regions of India. It is your job to come up with a proposal for fighting the drug epidemic in India. You will work in groups of no more than three and submit one assignment representing the efforts of all students.

The Task:

  1. What NGOs would you target to try to help your efforts?
  2. Would you ask other countries/the United Nations for help in this effort?
  3. Where would the money come from to support these efforts?
  4. How much is the estimated cost of your program?
  5. What areas would you focus on most: Prevention, Treatment, Law Enforcement (arrests, penalties, jail time), Interdiction (cutting off the supply and stopping the production), or International (dismantling the drug organizations)?

Strategy:

What are you targeting? What are the basic pillars of your strategy, and WHY?

The Product:

A 4-5 minute presentation—with visual aide—of your budget and strategy

Helpful Hints:

  • RESEARCH. Specific data and examples make your strategy stronger (and a bibliography of at least 3 sources is required).  Several sources are available at the Pulitzer Center website.  
  • Make your presentation easy to understand by using charts and graphs, especially pie charts.

Content:

Presenters include a bibliography with at least three sources.

5    4    3    2    1    0

Presentation reflects an in-depth analysis of the issues and contains specific references, facts, data, etc. that support the group’s strategy in regard to each of the following categories: Prevention, Treatment, Law Enforcement, Interdiction, International.  

         20    15    10    5    0

Presentation shows breakdown of your estimated budget explaining why you are spending money on a specific topic and how you will spend it.  

        10    7    5    3    0

Presentation:

Preparation: Group members responsibly and effectively used preparation time in class.

5    4    3    2    1    0

Group created a visual presentation that neatly summarized their budget and strategy.

5    4    3    2    1    0

Delivery:

Presentation was audible, clear, poised, rehearsed, and held the attention of the audience.

10    8    6    4    2    0

Presentation was entertaining and showed a carefully planned strategy

         5    3    0

Presentation was 4-5 minutes.

5    4    3    2    1    0

                        Total ___________/65 points

Extension:

After presentations have been given, vote on the best proposal and discuss what it strengths were and why that proposal would work best.  

Educator Notes: 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.7

Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

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