Roundtable 5 - Resistance Against Substance Abuse: The Need for Youth Action

 The Roundtable Series held by the Department of Sociology and Social Work Association conducted its fifth session on the 8th of April 2021, Thursday,  from 4:00 to 5:30 pm. The event began with an introductory note by Keshavi, following which a new Initiative by the Sociology and Social Work Association- CASA (Christites against Substance Abuse) was announced. This initiative is undertaken with the vision to contribute towards creating and maintaining a campus environment that is free from substance abuse. CASA is committed to its mission of building an active community of volunteers, peer educators, faculties experts, and counsellors dedicated to raising awareness about issues involving substance. Keshavi further invited faculty members Amaresha C Sir and Reenamerin Cherian Ma'am to share their views on Substance Abuse.

Pooja, the event moderator, took over the event and introduced the panellists for the day. They were Laksheta from MSW HR, Gokul Nair from 2PSEco, Harshil Sanghal from 4PSEco, and Bhanu Bhasin from MA Sociology. Laksheta brought up multiple arguments and questions regarding awareness and the amount of awareness. She further says that information should strictly be controlled according to ethical considerations.

Afterwards, Gokul Nair from 2PSEco was invited to talk about his views on substance abuse. He started with the technical uses of drugs that comply with recreational uses and meditational uses and how it has specific dosages in which it is helpful to us. His main argument revolved around how peer pressure turns someone into a hole of substance. He looked at both sides of peer pressure and how it can be good and bad.

The next panellist was Harshal from 4PSEco, who talked about the psychological aspect of substance abuse. In his pitch, he says that you feel a certain way, which you would not have felt otherwise when you ingest some drug into your body. He further categorizes drugs into four different categories and expands the conversation into what those drugs do. At last, Bhanu from MA Sociology shared his thoughts on the policy aspects of substance abuse. He stated that India needs strict imposition of the existing laws which are kept there to avoid giving young people access to substances like tobacco. In the end, panellists were invited to give their concluding remarks on the topic. Dr Victor Paul was called upon the screen to give his remarks on the whole event. The event went into a question and answer session where the audience (students) asked respective questions to the panellists. The guidance and support of the faculties worked along with the foundation to make the event a success.