Drug Abuse in Rural Hyderabad Sindh: Community Awareness and Response

Abstract

The drug abuse is a serious community issue where awareness and responsiveness are critically linked to prevention and control of the abuse and addiction. The problem of drug abuse has variety of reasons, perspectives and paradigms. Drugs are abused by individuals due to personal failures, frustrations, disputes, immaturity, broken domestic bond, bad parenting, peer role, defective learning and social structures. Community, media, government and civil society can play pivotal role in preventing the menace. The above causative factors need to be intervened systematically through combination of multiple approaches and strategies. The drug abuse problem is understood and tackled through community role. This study endeavors at primary data, international research and local studies relevant to the topic. The study was conducted to identify awareness of the community on the issue and gauge their responses. A non-random sample of hundred respondents including twenty women was selected. This paper attempts to explore the issue in the context of Differential Association model, Anomie theory and Bonding and Development perspectives.