SOCIO LEGAL IMPACT OF DRUG ABUSE AMONG YOUTH IN J&K

AUTHOR – ANMOL JASROTIA* & DR. AMRITA RATHI**

* LLM STUDENT, UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES, CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY

** ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES, CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY

BEST CITATION – ANMOL JASROTIA & DR. AMRITA RATHI, SOCIO LEGAL IMPACT OF DRUG ABUSE AMONG YOUTH IN J&K, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (13) OF 2025, PG. 510-520, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344

Abstract

The socio-legal effect of drug abuse among young people in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is critically discussed in this research paper, and the phenomenon is placed in the context of long-term conflict, sociopolitical unstable situation, and economic deficiency. Using interdisciplinary literature and empirical accounts, the research clarifies how criminal life substance usage patterns are determined by negative childhood events, joblessness, family instability, and ongoing trauma in a war-torn area. The study examines the compounded vulnerability of the youth aged 1735, based on the complex consequences on mental health, educational access, access to jobs, and social cohesion. The paper uses a socio-legal analytical tool to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the current legal tools, including the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and the recent de-addiction and juvenile justice strategies implemented by the state and law enforcement. The thesis appraises the conflict between punitive politics and rehabilitative demands, where the actions of the law need to be traumatologically and rights-oriented and in the context of widespread social stigma and inadequate mental health care. Among the main findings, there is the interaction of economic marginalisation and peer influence with lack of policy implementation that fuels addiction cycles, stigmatization and social rejection. The dissertation demonstrates significant research gaps in the longitudinal studies and interventions specifically developed to suit particular cultures and recommends a multi-sectoral approach combining health, education, and legal systems. Policy recommendations are focused on the growth of the community-based prevention, harm-reduction behavior, and evidence-based support systems that respond to the lived conditions of youth in J&K. The study eventually proceeds to the finer realization of drug abuse as an informative socio-legal problem, which needs contextually-based, multidimensional interventions.

Keywords: Drug abuse, young people, Jammu and Kashmir, socio-legal influence, conflict zone, mental health, population health, stigmatization, rehabilitation, family relationships, financial deprivation, peer pressure, and prevention interventions.