Bhubaneswar, Oct. 31: The urge to get high is making city youngsters stoop low.

With little money in their pockets but desperate for dope, students are turning to cheap alternatives over expensive drugs. Adhesives, cough syrups, certain medicines, battery powder and some chemicals are the popular options. Some are even taking to crime for the money to buy drugs and alcohol.

Little do these youngsters know what terrible consequences their actions might have.

Mrutyunjaya Prasad is a case in point. He paid for his bad habit with his life.

An engineering student, he fell from the third floor of his apartment in Shree Vihar and died on August 21. Police found in his pockets a few sachets of a synthetic adhesive that has an intoxicating effect when inhaled.

A few are rescued before the fatal fall, like 23-year-old Deepak Panigrahy (name changed). Panigrahy hopes to be free of his addiction after his stay at a drug rehabilitation centre here. He joined the centre in 2009.

Panigrahy fell prey to alcohol and then drugs while pursuing graduation at a city college. He turned an addict but sometimes, when he did not have enough money to buy his dope, he would look for cheap substitutes. “I took to synthetic adhesives and even consumed intoxicating medicines, which were easily available. Since as a student I did not always have enough money for expensive drugs, I took to cheap intoxicants such as Dendrite, Epicarm, cough syrups and other chemicals,” he said.

When his parents discovered the abuse, they admitted him to a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts. “I feel lucky to have overcome the urge for drugs and intoxicants. But I know there are many like me who end their lives after falling prey to drugs,” said the youth, who is now preparing for his final examination of chartered accountants.

Like Panigrahy and Prasad, there are many others who come here for studies and fall prey to drugs and alcohol. Volunteers working at rehabilitation centres said the easy availability of narcotics substances in the city had made youths vulnerable. When they do not have the money for their daily dose of contraband and alcohol, they look for cheap substitutes, and some resort to crime.

In the past two years, the excise department has seized 10 quintals of ganja (cannabis), 50 quintals of bhang (hemp) and five kilograms of brown sugar from various parts of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

“Since the past two years the seizure of drugs has increased. Synthetic drugs such as brown sugar and charas are illegally smuggled mainly from Rajasthan. Cannabis is locally grown in various parts of Koraput and Phulbani,” said Laxmikanta Behera, former excise superintendent.

Excise officials said their department had been conducting awareness campaigns to sensitise people, especially college-going students, to stay away from drugs. However, the use of unconventional methods and substances by youths to get high has stumped activists and sociologists as well as the police. They believe that the trend has been helped by the city turning into a socio-cultural melting pot.

“As a student, my pocket money did not allow me to afford liquor and other contraband and I was not the type to commit crimes to feed my addiction. A friend of mine suggested inhaling Dendrite which I found was an amazing thing to get high on,” said an engineering student currently undergoing treatment at a rehabilitation centre.

Ranjit Ray, an activist working at a de-addiction centre in the city said, they had been rehabilitating many such drug addicts who had been struggling to survive after coming under the influence of drugs.

“Among those who come to our rehabilitation centre, the majority are youngsters, especially students. Besides, past experience has shown that youngsters from slum areas easily fall prey to these unconventional methods of addiction. These addictions are harmful, but they go for it because of easy availability and low cost,” said Ray.

Police officers confirmed that some slum dwellers prefer these kinds of drugs. They added that some instances of thugs looting temple hundi boxes have been found to be linked to drug addiction.

“During investigation, we found the suspects were drug addicts who targeted temples because it was easy to steal form there and get the money for their daily dose of drugs. Some of these drug addicts even committed crimes such as dacoity and murder,” said a senior police officer.

Even rag pickers and daily wage labourers have been seen taking these unconventional substances to get a temporary high. “The use of unconventional substances to get high is rampant among slum youths. But they do not realise that these will have a negative impact on their health,” said activist Sabir Khuntia.

City-based doctors said substance abuse gave rise to respiratory diseases.

“These drugs also affect the lungs, kidney and heart. Most of the victims lose the ability to judge between right and wrong. It can also lead to loss of memory,” said city-based neuro-psychiatrist Amrit Patajoshi. He said they also suppressed appetite.

Sociologists blamed lack of parental control as a cause for youths falling prey to substance abuse. “Besides, today’s youths try new things for the sake of adventure and then can’t get out of the habit. They do not think about the consequences,” said sociologist D. Jena.