Man has been experimenting for thousands of years with a
variety of naturally occurring substances that act on his nervous
tissues. In ancient times alcohol was used by royal families or kings,
just to get the freshness of mind and pleasure. But the poor used the
drugs in the natural form (Bhang, Opium and Nicotine etc.). Thus the
problem of alcoholics and drug addiction is not new in the history of
mankind. In India although fermented alcohol "Somras", bhang,
opium have been in use for a long time, the use of synthetic or
chemical drugs relatively new. The menace of drug abuse is not only
spreading alarmingly in urban areas, but also in rural areas and
targets young adult population.
Drug abuse and alcoholism is widely recognized as a serious
problem world over with severe psychological, social and physical
consequences. Hence the problem of drug and alcohol abuse is not
unique either to India or to present times (Sachene, 1990) but is a
chronic menace.
