Burden of drugs and substance use among university students in India

Burden of drugs and substance use among university students in India

Mangalore Today News Network

By Dr. G. Shreekumar Menon

Mangaluru, August 5, 2025: Some misguided young people studying in universities and colleges, use drugs to cope with the social and psychological challenges that they may experience during different phases of their educational development. From adolescence to young adulthood challenges usually range from the need to feel good or simply to socialize, to personal and social maladjustments and most important, the inability to comprehend the subjects of study and the stiff competition faced in examinations. Also, a sizeable number of students residing in hostels, or sharing private accommodation, find themselves away from parental supervision and authority. This environment, therefore, is conducive for uncontrolled experimentation with drugs and substances of abuse and other risky behaviours, which have a direct negative impact on their academic performance, mental health well-being, and their overall lifestyle as students.
The consumption of licit and illicit substances among young people continues to draw attention among governments, practitioners, and researchers, but yet in India, there has been no extensive survey of university students and their proclivity for drug abuse. Cannabis is the most commonly accessible narcotic drug with an emerging trend in the availability of cannabis edibles. There is also an active proliferation of new psychoactive substances within the university environment particularly methamphetamine, codeine syrup, ecstasy, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psychedelics, ketamine, and morphine. Alcohol is the most widely used medium for consuming drugs. But, most States have liberal alcohol policies, as it is their prime revenue earner. This facilitates unrestricted use of alcohol, and students are getting addicted to alcohol.

University students often get introduced to drugs and other substances through an influencer, such as a girlfriend or boyfriend, or role model, using drugs, inability to cope with stress or stressful situations; unresolved trauma due to childhood domestic violence, Gender Based Violence (GBV) or bereavement, and involvement in gambling or betting. Other risk factors are student parties and common events which see active secret marketing of drugs and substances of abuse within the university environment.

Many sociologists and psychiatrists opine that the transition period from one life event to another is a high potential entry point for youths to experiment with substance use and risky behaviours. Students, aged between 18 to 25 years are at the transition point from high school education to college education. This transition is associated with an increased risk for drugs and substance use initiation.

Drug use is associated with the failure of students to sit for an exam or continuous assessment; missing classes or lectures, and involvement in disciplinary issues with a lecturer or the institution, or with other students.

Presently, guidance and counselling services are the most common intervention available to address drug addiction issues, followed by awareness talks, peer counselling, policy on drug-free environment within the institutions, sensitization programmes, referrals to treatment and rehabilitation services and random checks for drug use. However, the effectiveness of these interventions are a major concern.

Additional measures that need to be considered by Central and State governments and university managements could be:
a) The university management and the relevant stakeholders can roll out deliberate and sustained drug use prevention interventions including strong mentorship programmes tailored to the needs of the vulnerable student sub-populations. The university managements need to make mandatory accommodation of university students within the institutions and only in accredited privately managed accommodation facilities outside the university.
c) The university management and the Ministry of Education should strengthen the guidance and counselling departments.
d) The Government should provide affordable and accessible treatment and rehabilitation services tailored to the unique needs of students in higher learning institutions. Presently, treatment and rehabilitation services are expensive and beyond the reach of many families.
f) University managements need to leverage social media and other online platforms to reach the students with tailored prevention programmes and factual messaging to counter myths, misinformation, and misconceptions related to drugs.
g) Parents and guardians need to enhance parental monitoring and role modelling for university students throughout their undergraduate academic journey.
h) University managements should identify parenting as a key intervention area for the prevention and control of drug use.
i) Collaboration between the university management and the relevant enforcement agencies like Police, State Excise, NCB, DRI, and Customs is needed to guarantee drug-free spaces within the university and its environs.

Universities being institutions of higher learning, are expected to play a key role in prevention intervention strategies against substance use. Universities have an opportunity to offer the three prevention intervention programmes as stipulated by World Health Organization. This includes primary (universal), secondary (selective) and tertiary (indicative) prevention intervention strategies. The primary (universal) is meant for those individuals who are not using substances. The messages and programs are aimed at preventing or delaying the use of substances by providing all individuals with the information and skills necessary to prevent the substance use problem. Secondary (selective) prevention intervention strategies are for those experimenting on substances; it targets those at higher-than-average risk for substance use, and aims at stopping development of substance use into substance use disorder. The selective prevention program entails conducting early screening to identify those who fall under the different levels of risk. Tertiary prevention strategies are for individuals who have developed substance use disorder. It helps people to manage health problems that have long term consequences such as substance use disorder and relapse to substance use. Rehabilitation services which provide emotional support as well as psychotherapy towards psychological change along with growth of the individual’s self-actualization also fall in this category of intervention.

The overall aim of a survey among university students is to determine the prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse, the socio-demographic characteristic, perception of abuse and associated economic indicators and mental disorders and how they inform potential intervention in a cohort of Indian students.

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Dr. G. Shreekumar Menon, IRS (Rtd), Ph.D. (Narcotics)

Former Director General of National Academy of Customs Indirect Taxes and Narcotics & Multi-Disciplinary School Of Economic Intelligence India; Fellow, James Martin Centre For Non Proliferation Studies, USA; Fellow, Centre for International Trade & Security, University of Georgia, USA; Public Administration, Maxwell School of Public Administration, Syracuse University, U.S.A.; AOTS Scholar, Japan. He can be contacted at shreemenon48@gmail.com