Badrul Ahsan :The abuse of contraband drug-Yaba-is mounting in the country over the recent years, causing a serious concern among people of all walks of life in the society.The banned drug has sent a wave of shock and fear among the guardians in the city following its rapid spread among the people, particularly among the teens and youngsters.Yaba, a Thai word meaning ‘crazy medicine’, is an addictive and extremely harmful drug. The tablet flows into the country from Thailand via Myanmar through the Teknaf border, according to the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC). Teens and youngsters of the affluent families are the main consumers of this drug, which makes its users excited and gives them instant euphoria but later on casts a deadly effect.Unknown to the users, Yaba has different side effects like tremors, hypertension, hallucination, psychotic episodes, paranoia, delusions, violent behaviour, hypothermia, convulsions, agitation, anxiety, nervousness, mental confusion and memory loss.It is said that Adolf Hitler, during the World War II, first used this tablet for German soldiers so that they could go without sleep for five to seven days to fight against their enemies. “Abuse of this drug has gone up in the country significantly over the recent years,” Director (Operations) of DNC Pranab Kumar Neogi told The New Nation on Thursday. According to the statistics on the seizure of the tablets by the agencies concerned, around 25,51,352 pieces of yaba tablet were seized in 2015 against 8,12,716 pieces recorded in 2010.”The consignments of the tablets entering the country are much higher than the amount recovered by the law enforcement agencies. We’ve stepped up our vigilance in and around the capital to curb trading of this deadly drug,” Neogi said. Interestingly, Yaba traders have started producing the tablets locally because of growing market demand and the law enforcers’ drive against entering the contraband drug, DNC sources said. Talking to The New Nation, an ASP of Crime Prevention Company of RAB-7 unit, not to be named, said they have information that some of the traders manufacture the tablet in the remote areas of Cox’s Bazar district and some other hilly areas.”We’ll soon launch a drive to catch the culprits,” he said, adding that there are two categories of the stimulating tablets-R-7 and WY (locally known as Champa), which are in high demand locally.He said R-7 is expensive as a piece of this drug costs in between Tk 700 and Tk 800 while each WY tablet can be purchased for around Tk 300. Dr Arup Ratan Choudhury, founder president of the Association for the Prevention of Drug Abuse (MANAS), expressed his deep concern over the growing use of drugs like yaba. “Time has come to open our eyes and be aware of the deadly effect of the drug as it is silently destroying our younger generation. There are now nearly 9.0 million people in the country, who are highly dependent on drugs which is nine times higher than the number estimated in the 1990s, he said. However, eminent criminologist Prof Dr ASM Amanullah of Dhaka University said that 10,000 drug dealers sell some 2.0 million yaba pieces a day across the country. “The statistics show how fast the drug market is expanding in Bangladesh. It is a grave sign for the society,” he said, adding that youngsters from the well-off families are the main target of the traders.Professor Nasreen, Director of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies of Dhaka University, underscored the need for revising the academic syllabus and more integration of moral course contents in the curriculum. She also suggested increase of government monitoring over the course contents of the private academic institutions.
