The deteriorating state of rehabilitation centres and Pakistan's reluctance to own the drug problem

Fourteen-year-old, Obaid Rehmat* is currently undergoing rehabilitation for drug addiction at a private clinic in Islamabad. In addition to hashish, the teenager was addicted to hard drugs such as heroin and crystal meth. Obaid started using drugs when he was in the sixth grade. Drug abuse is common where he lives, in Khyber District in the Peshawar division. “There is no taboo against using hashish in our area, particularly on happy occasions such as weddings,” the teenager tells Eos. His first exposure to hashish was at his elder sister’s wedding. “I was living a normal life until I started using hashish and then I also got on heroin. But since I started using meth, my life turned into...