Meerut, June 5. There are over 10,000 drug addicts in the age group of 13 and 35 in Meerut, a survey by a local NGO running de-addiction clinics says.
These youths spend over Rs 1,500 in a single day on brown sugar and other drugs like morphine, Avil and Phenergan, according to the NGO 'Jagriti Nasha Mukti Kendra'.Young children are addicted to cough syrups that are available over the counter at pharmacies, Hasan Zaidi of the Kendra said.
He said Meerut's cinema houses, tea-shops and medical stores were hot-spots for the drug business.
Students often got trapped into the net of pushers out of curiosity or thinking it to be a sign of growing up or a "status symbol" after which it was just another step to becoming an addict, he said.
The NGO survey found that family quarrels, unemployment, mental tension and peer pressure were the main reasons why young boys and girls took to drug use and abuse.
