Addiction Aftershock

With alarming data and no time to spare, Kashmir must confront the kidney crisis now.

- Raqif Makhdoomi

Heroin, cocaine, and synthetic drugs are ravaging kidneys in Kashmir, leaving young people on the edge of extermination.

This isn't just a health crisis, experts say, it's a betrayal of an entire generation. Time is already running out, they warn, as the scale is staggering.

A 2023 study by the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) in Srinagar found that over 60,000 people in Kashmir are addicted to hard drugs, with heroin use spiking by 30% in five years.

Every 12 minutes, someone walks into one of Srinagar's de-addiction centers. A decade ago, one center sufficed. Now there are four, with plans for more. These aren't just numbers, they're lives unraveling.

Addiction fuels a surge in diseases like HIV and hepatitis B and C, but the real devastation is in the kidneys.

Doctors report that 70-80% of chronic addicts suffer severe kidney damage, with some cases reaching 90% loss of function. Many are too frail for dialysis, let alone transplant.

Notably, heroin and synthetic opioids like fentanyl overload the body's filtration system. Over time, toxins build up, scarring the kidneys' delicate tissues.