Khammam: Rising use of ganja (cannabis sativa) among teenagers in the past few years in Khammam is alarming and is only spreading. Youth are initally attracted to try it. After some time they become addicted to smoking ganja.
There are 30,000 students, aged between 16 to 22 years, living in and around Khammam who pursue education in engineering, medical and pharmacy courses. A few youth had started consuming ganja. Free availability is said to be a reason for this.
Ganja is being sold in 2 gram, 3 gram and 5 grams and it has turned into a big business in Khammam.
The users will remove the tobacco in the cigarettes and fix ganja leaves in place of it and smoke the cigarettes.
An intermediate student, who got habituated to the product, committed suicide as his parents restricted him from going out. It is learnt that the product is coming from Mahabubabad and Bhupalapalli districts to Khammam.
The back side of the FCI godowns are addas for ganja lovers. It is difficult to approach these people when they are intoxicated.
E. Venkateswarlu, a social activist, said, “Ganja use will be a danger in Khammam and the police and officials should be alert on the issue. If not, we will lose our people and it will turn into a cancer in the town”.
There are many intelligent kids who are smoking ganja but they seem to lack access to the part of their brain that is connected to authentic joy and reflective thought. Many students are residing in hostels and separate rooms and their parents are sending sufficient money for their expenditure. These youth are influencing their friends to try the product. There is a need for parents to notice their kids’ behaviour.
There were instances when some students approached psychiatrists and kept away from the product, after counselling.
