KOCHI: Have you ‘scored’? The question may not catch today’s youth off guard. ‘Scoring’ and ‘weed’ are two terms that do the rounds among many youngsters today. They are the major codes used by those hooked to drugs like ganja and ‘charas’.While dispersing from an evening meeting in a lonely corner of the city, one of them would say, “I will score for tomorrow (I will buy the weed for tomorrow).” Weed refers to ganja.Since possession of ganja is a crime, many youngsters resort to these codes. Normally words - grass, weed or stuff are used for ganja. After getting a sachet at prices ranging between Rs 100 and Rs 200 (depending on the size), the next task before them is to find a suitable place to use it.After that the experienced in the group would ‘roll the joint’. A ‘joint’ is the final product — the cigarette rolled with a mix of tobacco and ganja. “It can be either rolled in an empty cigarette tube or rolling paper available in the market.Usually we use the thick paper inside the cigarette cartons termed by them as ‘roach’ for making the bud of the cigarette,” said Vinodh (name changed), a student who is into the habit of ganja smoking.The main reason why he uses it is for the ‘trip’ or getting a high. The hottest stuff was ‘Idukki Gold’ till 2009. But now, the majority of the weeds we get are from outside the state,” he said.However, when asked about the source of ganja, Vinodh, after a little hesitation, said that it was not that difficult to get the stuff in Kochi. “My senior gave me the number of an agent. He introduced me to him. Usually, we get the stuff from these agents or from some auto drivers. We used to buy the stuff from the suburbs of Kochi, including Perumbavoor,” he said.The drug is generally used in groups.“If we consume alcohol and drive, the Police can catch us easily using the breath analyzer. But here, the risk factor is minimal. As of now, I think the Police do not have any mechanism to know whether we have taken drugs without a medical check up,” said Ramesh, Vinodh’s friend.The biggest question now in front of the authorities is how to tackle the menace of drugs. The stricter the measures taken, the more freely available is the ‘stuff’ in the city.If proper awareness is not given to the youth on the threat of killer drugs, if parents are apathetic to the gravity of the issue and if these rackets are not busted at the grass roots level, the ‘scoring’ rate will continue to soar.(Names have been changed)
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