The 2018 Cannabis Price Index is an eye-opener for Karachi as well as for Pakistan as a whole marking one of the major problems that has rooted in the society. Out of 120 cities around the world, Karachi is 2nd highest most drug consuming cities in the world. There are 6.7 million drug users and 2 million drug addicts in Pakistan, where drug availability has increased in recent years.
ABCD Agency – Content Marketing & PR Agency in Berlin, expanded the Cannabis Price Index 2018 and investigated the price of weed per gram in each city, identifying the regions of the world that are most prepared to accept the legalization of cannabis.
| S.No | City | Country | Legality | Price/ gram | Total Consumption in Metrix Tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | USA | Partial | 10.76 | 77.44 |
| 2 | Karachi | Pakistan | Illegal | 5.32 | 41.95 |
| 3 | New Delhi | India | Partial | 4.38 | 38.26 |
| 4 | Los Angeles | USA | Legal | 8.14 | 36.06 |
| 5 | Cairo | Egypt | Illegal | 16.15 | 32.59 |
| 6 | Mumbai | India | Partial | 4.57 | 32.38 |
| 7 | London | UK | Illegal | 9.2 | 31.4 |
| 8 | Chicago | USA | Partial | 11.46 | 24.54 |
| 9 | Moscow | Russia | Partial | 11.84 | 22.87 |
| 10 | Toronto | Canada | Partial | 7.82 | 22.75 |
The managing director at Promise Rehabilitation Centre in Karachi, Mr. Muhammad Ali Rauf states that:
“After New York, Karachi is the city with the most drug consumption in the world”. He added “Hashish (locally known as chars) is the most commonly used narcotic; apart from that, all types of drugs including alcohol, heroin, crystal meth, teryak, sleeping pills, ecstasy, cocaine, etc. are so readily available today that one can even order them online and get those delivered at home”.
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Karachi Educational Institutions Target of Drug Use
A survey conducted by the police revealed that activists of political parties are involved in drug sales in Karachi’s educational institutions. Among the top educational institutions where this threat is expanding quickly are the Government Degree College Buffer Zone, Federal Urdu Univeristy, Defense College, Baldia Government College, and National College Karachi.
The fishing neighborhood of Rehri Goth is also one of the badly affected areas besides Sohrab Goth, Malir, Nazimabad, and Hub Chowki. According to a local farmer’s statement to Dawn News “Procuring drugs here is as easy as getting a bottle of water”.
A confidential report that the Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) received claims that young boys, females, and students are being supplied with synthetic drugs and narcotics. The police have increased their patrols outside of all school facilities. As part of crackdowns on August 23, a drug peddler was arrested from Federal Urdu University with 2,100 grams of hashish (charas) in his possession at the time of arrest.
Registrar of Directorate Private Schools Rafia Javed also acknowledged that the department received few complaints about the usage of drugs in the private schools. Around 450 students male and female were arrested in 2020 on account of drug use, 24NewsHD TV reported, quoting a police survey.
A psychologist at Karachi Jinnah Hospital, Dr. Hassan Khan, states that the younger generation has been exposed to drugs and that many female students are abusing “ice” substances.
Factors causing the rise of Drug Addiction
According to research, it is easy to promote drugs among students, and drug traffickers target students more. Curiosity and recreational drug use both contribute to the spread of drugs. It is claimed that cocaine and ecstasy are becoming more and more popular, especially among upper-class teenagers in various major areas.
One of the factors contributing to the surge in drug availability is their low cost. Other major factors are the lack of parental involvement, disinterest in education, unemployment, and parents’ incapacity to educate their children about the dangers of drugs are all factors that contribute to the spread of drugs.
Social activist Alia Sarim Burney gave her views to the 24NewsHD TV channel in Dec 2020:
“Drug use among students, especially female students, will prove to be a fatal blow for the generations to come and society as a whole.”
