The Opening of bars won’t solve the drug abuse problem Mr. Vijayan: Kerala opens bars again

Popularly Punjabis and Keralites or Malayalis have been proud of their ‘Capacity’. And here I don’t mean the capacity to eat but to drink alcohol. Vivid stories of Malayalis having large quantities of alcohol without becoming tipsy at all. But that was changed about a year ago when the UDF government banned alcohol in the state. Many challenged this idea but the government did not budge. The new government in the second year gave the people a huge present in the form of bar licenses. And the government justifies the move as a counter to the increase in drug abuse in the state.

But that doesn’t add up the earlier incidences of drug abuse in the state when alcohol was not banned. This government has put itself in a strange position with a portion of the society supporting the decision and another portion disliking the decision. But if we consider basic human psychology a lesser evil is not going to stop people from going to the next level. This trade-off by the Kerala government is faulty and will only increase the use of drugs in the state.

Addicts that are used to alcohol will obviously try to get a new high by trying drugs alongwith the alcohol. And people who were already using the two together will get a shot in the arm by this decision. Moreover people who didn’t knew about drugs are now enlightened about this addiction and if they had a try or two with alcohol once, they will do the same with the drugs and thus this vicious circle will continue.

The government of Kerala just gave a stronger thrust to this vicious wheel. This wheel will sure have social impacts as well. Alcohol is not introduced in a situation where people have a choice to stay aloof. It is like a whirlwind, which pulls you in whether you want it or not. And considering the move of the Kerala government which permits three star hotels and restaurants to sell alcohol, the youth of the state and the neighboring states are at risk.

It is clear from the government’s shady reasons that this move is just to introduce a new head of revenue for the state. And the sad part is that this is based on the health of number of youth of the country. Not to mention the relation between drinking and crime in general. And particularly in the case of Kerala, the crime against women, which has been a black mark on the state for so long. You cannot burn an entire forest to weed out one rat, and if you do so the rat will live to see you die soon.