On the Streets

An estimated 44 tonnes of processed heroin is consumed in Pakistan annually, generating some $2 billion in illegal trade, according to a report in the Telegraph in 2014. The figure, it is feared, has gone up since then. According to the Anti-Narcotics Force, close to 8.9 million people in Pakistan are drug dependent and local media sources suggest drug-related complications claim 700 lives daily in the country — much higher than terrorism. This figure is all the more alarming as the average age for drug use has fallen below 24, signalling a worrisome nature of the problem amongst the youth.