Srinagar, June 26 -- The data, revealed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment shows that Kashmir's children are increasingly falling into the trap of hard drugs. In addition to opioids, 8,000 minors are using cannabis, 19,000 are dependent on sedatives, 46,000 inhale toxic substances, and smaller but significant numbers are reported to be using cocaine, amphetamine stimulants, and hallucinogens.

The adult population is also heavily affected. Among the 11.8 lakh adults aged between 18 and 75 who are substance users in J&K, 4.47 lakh are addicted to opioids, 3.54 lakh consume alcohol, 1.51 lakh use sedatives, and 1.36 lakh rely on cannabis. There are also increasing reports of use of more dangerous synth...