RANCHI: Students of Ranchi are procuring high end psychedelic drug, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (
LSD
) in form of stamps commonly called
acid stamps
, through post. Though under wraps, the sudden spurt in use of psychedelic drugs has come to light through drug de-addiction experts and rehabilitators, who have got cases of high end drug addiction.
TOI spoke to one such drug peddler, known by code name Hunter who makes the acid stamps- LSD coated blot papers-available for a price of Rs 2,000 per stamp. The students of one of the reputed technical institutes in Ranchi and a medical college have formed a closed user group and place orders for different substances, the recent being stamps.
Last week a packet of stamps reached Ranchi through postal services in an envelope.
Chief post master general (CPMG), Jharkhand, Anil Kumar said that there is a provision for complete scanning of postal material and parcels at seven places in the country—Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune and customs officers are also deployed. “There are several check points in the North East as well because the region is known to be an entry point for drugs but as of now we have not got any hint about drugs coming to Jharkhand from these places where the consignments are scanned,” he said. Kumar however agreed that if the packets come from smaller towns or is sent within one city to another in the state it may go unnoticed and unreported.
Consultant psychiatrist at Ranchi Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS) Dr Siddhartha Sinha said that he has been counselling some of the students of elite institutions about their addiction to substances.
“Substance abuse was common and till few years ago it was limited to alcohol, cannabis and codeine but recently there are students who have started consuming high end psychedelic drugs like cocaine LSD and acid stamps ,” he said adding that these drugs often precipitate psychosis, cause bipolarity in individuals and lead to major depressive disorders in a short span.
“Students undergo behavioural changes causing massive damage to interpersonal relationships and this often is the only way to diagnose them if they are on these drugs but most of the time Parents fail to notice the changes immediately,” he said.
Acid stamps which often comes in sheets identical to postal stamp which cartoon characters or animal figures printed on them has to be placed sublingual and gives a ‘rush’ for about 10-12 hours, peaking time being three hours.
The LSD coated blot papers are tasteless and odourless leaving no chance to be detected. They are foldable and could be safely placed within layers of paper in an envelope making it difficult to be detected in scanners.
IG and police spokesperson MS Bhatia admitted that some of the drug peddlers are active in Jharkhand, particularly in Lohardaga and Ranchi. “Police have raided tea shops, dhabas and beatle shops in Ranchi close to Delhi Public School and on the highways and have also recovered Ganja, doda powder (powder of poppy pods) but Acid stamps or LSD have not been found,” he said.
Bhatia also pointed to a network running from Bangladesh to Jharkhand through Sahebganj and Bengal route which gives easy entry to the drug peddlers. “We are working in close association with the sub zonal office of Narcotics control bureau and CID to keep an eye on these networks,” he said.