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Community, Health, and Family

Socio-Economic Effects of an Indigenous Opiate Drug (Barsh) in Rural Communities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Dr. Sameer Ul Khaliq Jan*, Dr. Sameer Ul Khaliq Jan, Dr. Ahmad Ali,

In most countries of the world, including Pakistan, illegal drug use is increasingly rampant, particularly in the rural areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and the number of drug addicts is rising rapidly. The purpose of this study is to assess the social and economic effects of a locally prepared, highly addictive opiate narcotic drug popularly known as Barsh. This indigenous and toxic drug is used across different ethnic groups in the rural areas of the province; however, its use and abuse are particularly prevalent in the rural regions of the Jandool subdivision of District Dir Lower and Bajaur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This study examines several aspects, including the demographic profile of drug abusers, reasons for drug initiation, and the social and economic impacts of the drug on addicts. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Dir Lower and Bajaur, involving 400 respondents identified through snowball sampling. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Chi-square test statistics were applied to examine the association between the independent variable (Barsh use) and dependent variables (socio-economic effects) using SPSS version 26. The findings of the study show that the prevalence of drug abuse is higher among married, illiterate individuals aged 41 years and above. The study also finds a significant relationship between Barsh use and various socio-economic effects, including problems with family members due to Barsh use, social taunting of addicts’ family members, neglect of family responsibilities by Barsh addicts due to addictive and anti-social behavior, and neglect of addicts by family members because of addiction and violent behavior. In addition, Barsh use is significantly associated with involvement in anti-social activities, social isolation, financial problems, loan defaulting, mortgaging property to finance drug use, poor job, study, or work performance, and the sale of valuable household assets.

Keywords: Barsh, social effects, economic effects, addiction, Pakistan