QOTD: India doping, easy and fast

DJ Aqeel continues to be in detention after being picked up at the Dubai airport late on Tuesday evening for alleged possession of banned drug, Ecstasy.

Found in possession of 0.06 gm ecsatcy, Aqeel vehemently denies consuming the drug and alleges “it was planted on him”.

Aqeel's lawyer claims no trace of ecstasy was found in the DJ’s blood and urine samples.

The incident has once again highlighted how celebrity status has become synonymous with risk-taking behaviour and is associated with a lifestyle that is on the fastlane, particularly among younger celebs.

From hard rock icon Ozzy Osbourne to Indian film industry’s Sanjay Dutt and Fardeen Khan, drugs have almost become and integral acceptable part for celeb culture.

On Face the Nation, Bhupendra Chaubey discussed the issue with Hindustan Times columnit Seema Goswami.

“There is a certain acceptability that has come about in recent times about doing drugs. Nobody looks at it as something that has to be condemned. It’s more a lifestyle choice that people make and do these kinds of recreational drugs. They don’t think they are doing anything wrong or bad. And within that set, no one holds them accountable for their actions and neither are there any repercussions,” says Goswami.

Incidentally, most such detentions and arrests happen in Gulf countries where the laws are anyway very strict. So has the desperation for drugs reached a stage where celebrities just cannot do without them?

While Goswami said she wouldn’t want to go into the specifics of the Aqeel case, she agreed that celeb status granted a license of sorts. “There is a sense of invincibility that sets in when you are celebrity and you feel rules don’t apply to you and that you can get away with anything. I think that’s the mindset that leads these things to happen,” she said.

A popular argument in favour of celebrities into drugs is that they succumb to the pressure of celebdom and hence doing drugs is a vent of sorts for them.

However, Goswami said celebs doing drugs wasn’t a new phenomenon. “Whether you look at 60s rock, Hollywood or cinema in general drugs have always been a part of that circuit. It’s just that in India we’ve never had too much coverage of it. We are just hearing about it now,“ she argued.

However, she refrained from attributing the increase in drug use to Hollywood. Instead, she said it’s the affordability and accessibility that leads to easy substance abuse. “A lot more people can afford these drugs and there’s far more availability. There’s a lot of info available too. It’s also become acceptable among a certain section of people. But I don’t think parents find it acceptable that drugs be sold to their kids. Within a certain set, doing coke or a joint is not that big a deal,“ she concluded.

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