Hazards of drugs use

Islamabad : The use of sexualised drugs, mainly Crystal Meth or Ice, badly impacts its users with mental illness and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

The findings make part of the first-ever study conducted in major cities of the country, including Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Islamabad and Rawalpindi titled ‘The Hidden Crisis’ conducted by ‘Dareecha’ and ‘Dostana’, two non-governmental organisations.

The research study was conducted at the national level on the transgender community and key population on the “Causes and Effects of Crystal Meth/Ice Use among Key Population in Pakistan.”

The study says that recent years have witnessed a steady rise in the use of Ice or Crystal Meth around the world. Pakistan plays an important role both as a key nodal point in the trade of Crystal Meth with much of the supply coming in from Afghanistan as well as hosting a growing number of consumers.

While sharing the findings of the report, Raza Haider and Raheem Baloch, both development professionals and researchers, said that the study is based on a survey conducted among 100 transgender community and key population members around the country.

They said that Ice is easily available in the market. It’s not expensive and accessible to all people.

Haider said that the study also indicates that the users develop mental health issues within a few months of the use of Ice. “Methamphetamine or meth negatively affects the mental health of 70.4 per cent of its users. Their family life is disturbed and some of them also lost their jobs.”

The report also revealed that 54.1 per cent of users of the drug wanted to stop. “Only 17 per cent wanted to continue it because of the efficiency they believed the drug stimulates,” he shared the findings. Almost 35 per cent of respondents said during the study that they were raped or sexually assaulted after its use. It also revealed that 74 per cent of users lost their physical health, including weight loss. “Almost 66 per cent of users were HIV positive and 16.2 per cent were on treatment [for HIV],” said Raheem Khan. Sharing the details, Khan said that the risk of sexual violence was higher as the use of Ice blurs the lines of consent.

The study shows that 90 per cent respondents developed a high-risk behaviour and practiced unsafe practices while on Meth which increases the chances of spreading HIV and other infections. It says that 70 per cent of the respondents said that the use of ice negatively affected their mental and physical health while 66 per cent were living with HIV. Around 77 per cent users lost their interest in life and work and became unemployed due to substance abuse. Respondents of the study shared that they didn’t have any access to psychological support due to stigma attached to drug use and transgender community.

They said that the service providers at government facilities are not trained to understand their situation. The study says that community faces discrimination in getting support services. Neither government hospitals nor the NGOs could cater to the needs of substance abuse-specific cases.

Besides that, the majority of respondents were not able to afford private rehabilitation centres for their treatment.

Raza and Raheem said that before this study, there was no authentic data available on transgender community and key population issues and needs related to use of crystal meth.

The research says that majority of respondents didn’t have knowledge of existence of any support mechanism. Those who had the information preferred not to contact because their experience says that it would be of no use and they also fear for getting caught by law enforcement agencies. In addition, pre-existing discrimination by society and the community also hinders the users from seeking support. The findings of the report call for inclusive and non-discriminatory social protection initiatives and its fair implementation.

It also emphasises for a proper survey to identify the needs of the transgender community and key population.