Mental Health Foundation says substance abuse amongst youth high; calls for urgent action

Friday, 17 June 2022 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Mental Health Foundation points to an alarming rise in consumption of madana modaka – a cannabis mixed aphrodisiac – amongst youngsters in Sri Lanka.

Foundation Chairman Prof. Gnadasa Perera, who is also Senior Lecturer at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura says this trend could lead to a grave national health crisis in the future and urged authorities to consider corrective measures.

Prof. Perera noted that madana modaka are low cost and are obtained fairly easily from the market by youngsters all over the country. He pointed out that rising cost of living and mental stress, people have been turning to such low costs unregulated and illegal options, as the price of legal alcohol products are now out of reach for many segments.

“The use of madana modaka will shape a mentally unstable society with a warped outlook on life. We have been engaged in attempts to rehabilitate addicts for a long period of time, and we are well aware of the challenges posed to people and their futures. It becomes difficult to maintain social balance when a large number of our workforce and future generations become addicts. We have noticed an alarming increase in numbers of patients and addicts, and not enough is being done to regulate and control this problem,” Prof. Perera stated.

He revealed that school children too have been caught in this trap and some promotions even take place across social media.