Beyond Awareness: A Holistic & Bahá’i Response to Healing Substance Abuse

• Shah Huma Parveen ( EDITOR-IN-CHIEF )
• July 04, 2026

Beyond Awareness: A Holistic & Bahá’i Response to Healing Substance Abuse

Dr. A. K. Merchant*

Every year on 26th June, the world marks the International Day Against Drug Abuse. Yet, behind the official UN calendar lies a skyrocketing crisis. In India alone, over 14% of the population uses alcohol, and nearly six crore people use cannabis. Alarmingly, heroin has now overtaken opium as the nation's dominant opioid. The numbers are rising, and the human cost is devastating.

Psychologists note that many people who become addicted carry insecurity and low confidence rooted in family or personal struggles. Arguably, most know exactly what the drug is doing to their mind, memory, and relationships, yet knowing isn’t enough to break free. Alarmingly, a recent case of a young boy, high on methamphetamine (“ice”), gouging out his own eyes in a hospital emergency room shocked people everywhere. It brought to fore the uncomfortable question: What pushes young people toward such destructive substance use? The answer lies partly in a rapidly shifting global landscape. The century-long dominance of heroin is being challenged by cheap, synthetic drugs. Trafficking groups are no longer just operating in shadows; they are leveraging technological innovations to target new, younger audiences, turning a human tragedy into a billion-dollar business.

To counter a billion-dollar illicit industry, we cannot rely solely on law enforcement. We must look at the root of human suffering. The Bahá’í writings offer a profound diagnosis: “The principal cause of the suffering, which one can witness where one turns, is the corruption of human morals and the prevalence of prejudice, suspicion, hatred, untrustworthiness, selfishness and tyranny among peoples everywhere. It is not merely material well-being that people need. What they desperately need is to know how to live their lives—they need to know who they are, to what purpose they exist, and how they should act towards one another, and, once they know the answers to these questions, they need to be helped to gradually apply these answers to everyday behaviour. It is to the solution of the basic problem of humankind that the greater part of all our energy and resources should be directed.”

Protecting and preventing those who are being sucked into the whirlpool of vices, especially the younger generations, Gen Z, is a collective responsibility in which individuals, families, educators, administrators, health professionals and all other elements of a responsible and mature society must cooperate and work together creating an environment of positivity. An eco-framework conducive to spiritual and personal growth, alert to the destructive ephemeral tendencies is being evolved. 

 Acutely aware that illicit drug markets have always been adapting, and organized crime has always been looking to exploit gaps in governance and regulation, the campaign during the current year has brought together stakeholders at international, national, and local level in the civil society to work in tandem with various national governments and United Nations agencies for devising strategies and action programs to reduce demand for and supply of illicit drugs and harmful substances by:

• Launching new prevention efforts to reduce and address vulnerabilities in people, especially youth, and communities, lowering their risk of exploitation by criminal networks;
• Keeping ports, airports, sea routes and land borders along key trafficking routes safe;
• Collecting and analysing data to shape drug policies;
• Detecting and identifying drugs and the chemicals used in their illicit manufacture;
• Understanding the chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of drugs, and handling and disposing of them safely;
• Supporting responses across the criminal justice system, from interception to investigation and prosecution;
• Creating opportunities for farmers to shift from illicit drug crop cultivation to sustainable licit livelihoods;
• Putting new substances under international control to respond to emerging drug threats.

Understandably, from the foregoing it is clear that all fair-minded persons recognize the need for a genuine universal framework of communication, conflict management, and decision-making involving peoples most affected and governments is the urgent requirement. Government of India’s Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has made real progress on visibility, reaching over 25 crore people, with more than 14 crore individuals and 4 lakh educational institutions formally enrolled. This is most laudable; however, awareness campaigns alone do not treat addiction and dependence. They need to be coupled with accessible de-addiction centres, school-level intervention, and sustained family engagement, support systems that catch a habit while it is still at a stage before it turns into dependency.

The approach of the Bahá’i Faith encompasses several key pillars:

• Strict Spiritual Prohibition--the consumption of alcohol, narcotic drugs, and any habit-forming or mind-altering substances such as hashish and hallucinogens, are forbidden. Exceptions are made only for medical treatments prescribed by a qualified physician.
• Preventative Education and Family Life--the home is the primary environment for instilling values that guide positive, drug-free behaviour. Parents have a duty to explicitly teach and model behaviours that support health, vigour, and personal responsibility. Educational programs in schools and resources of the media to be utilized explain the consequences of drug use and help youth to develop a strong sense of identity to resist peer pressure.
• A Compassionate, Healing and Support—for responding to those who fall prey to addiction. They are dealt with compassion, sense of harmony, and support rather than blame or ostracization.
• Medical and Psychological Help is encouraged by the Bahá’í institutions to seek professional help from medical experts, doctors, and addiction counsellors.
• Support Groups--the Community supports participation in therapeutic programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, viewing the shared support in these fellowships as a positive tool for recovery.
• Community Consultation and Fellowship--the Bahá’i principle of local community consultation—collective, empathetic decision-making and problem-solving—is used to provide moral support, prayer, and encouragement for individuals attempting to overcome addiction.
• International Advocacy—through participation in public discourses, at local, state, national and international levels suitable statements based on the guidance in Bahá’í Writings and those presented to United Nations and other international organizations, members of the Community provide whole-hearted support to curb the cultivation, manufacture, and trafficking of illicit narcotics and harmful substances.

The task is highly challenging, arduous and even dangerous involving all the protagonists of a society drawing upon role models (statesmen, teachers, and celebrities) to adopt drug-free lifestyles and promote the importance of personal development and global well-being.

*The writer is a social worker, independent researcher, & a member of the Bahá’i Community of India. Views expressed are personal.