Kochi: Blood dripping from her nose was the wake-up call for a 15-year-old student from Kochi. As she blotted away the dark red discharge, she told herself ‘no more’. No more cocaine. No more MDMA. No more drugs.
As a child, she dreamt of becoming a police officer. Now, on the cusp of adulthood, she’s in a government-aided de-addiction centre for women, estranged from her family. Her first boyfriend was her supplier, and she progressed from marijuana and hashish to MDMA and cocaine in barely two years.
“It started with ganja. I spent most of my time outside, hanging out with friends, and getting drugs was never a challenge. It was so easy to access that it quickly became an inseparable part of my life,” said the teenager.
She is a symptom of a ‘disease’ that has percolated into Kerala’s safe spaces— schools, college campuses, and middle-class homes.
God’s own country now has a drug problem. The recreational drug MDMA tops the list of contraband seized in Kerala, alongside cocaine, LSD, hashish, brown sugar, and heroin, according to Maju TM, Deputy Excise Commissioner, Kochi.
“School kids, college students—they beg, they bargain”
ThePrint, Nootan Sharma
A state that prides itself in having total literacy, strong public welfare, and high health indicators has long struggled with alcohol addiction, worrying suicide rates and an unchecked lottery culture. Now, a deadlier crisis is taking root—synthetic drugs, threatening its youth.
“School kids, college students—they beg, they bargain,” said Sebi, 24, a former drug user and dealer from Kochi. He’s at a de-addiction centre in the port city, determined to get his life on track. “When I refuse them, they just ask for another dealer’s number.”
The city Sebi grew up in—the state he once saw as a beacon of progress—is changing before his eyes. Barring a lull during the pandemic years, Kerala has seen a 300 per cent rise in cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act from 2016 to 2022. It’s outpaced even traditionally high-burden states like Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. In 2022, Kerala registered 26,619 cases under the NDPS Act—more than double Punjab’s 12,442 and surpassing UP’s 11,541.
From bustling cities to quiet small towns, drug networks are expanding at an alarming rate, feeding an addiction on campuses. And Ernakulam district, encompassing Kochi, has emerged as the focal point in this crisis.
Police, politicians and even priests have amped up their efforts in recent months. From Operation D-Hunt to Operation Clean Slate, the state government has intensified raids, crackdowns and seizures in paying guest accommodations, hotels, and hostels. Special drives, awareness campaigns, and counselling sessions are being conducted on campuses.
It’s become a political flashpoint as well.
“It’s an issue I have raised in Parliament, and I have not had a satisfactory response from the authorities. We need to have a war on drugs in Kerala,” Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor told the media earlier this month in Thiruvananthapuram. He called it an “extremely serious” situation. He’s not the only leader to sound the alarm bells.
In February, the Kerala Assembly suspended regular business to discuss the drug menace. The opposition accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of downplaying the crisis, by framing it as part of a larger global trend.
“We have reached a stage where the state Assembly had to suspend its regular business to consider this social menace. The session was suspended because the issue has now reached schools. This is the reality we have to deal with. We have been pushing it off, saying that in Kerala, it is not happening,” said Kerala High Court Justice V.G. Arun, while hearing a case related to drug abuse in March 2025.
What’s also worrying is the rise in drug-related crimes across Kerala—robberies, gang wars, and even murders.
“People have money now in Kerala, and the drug mafias chose Kerala to build their market. They are targeting the youth because they are perfect for it,” said K.K. Shailaja, former health minister of Kerala and leader of CPIM.
ThePrint, Nootan Sharma
Also read: Now Haryana has a drug problem too. And unique ways of fighting it
War on drugs
The party drug MDMA is having its moment in Kerala.
Sebi started peddling marijuana and MDMA among medical students, guests in hotels, and even in schools. Each drop earned him Rs 1,000-Rs 2,000 — just enough to keep his own habit alive. After three years of drug abuse, three addiction centres and multiple counselling sessions later, he is now in the final stage of his recovery. But his phone still rings for orders—almost all of them are students.
“I try to warn them, tell them how it ruined my life, but no one cares. When the craving hits, nothing else matters. Not their future, not their family—just the next high,” said Sebi, sitting on a black chair at a recovery centre.
ThePrint, Nootan Sharma
The police and the excise department have intensified their crackdown on dealers like Sebi. If they can’t catch them in the act, they’re knocking on their homes. That’s what happened to 21-year-old Muhammad Naseef. A team of six police officers arrived at his Kochi residence at 10: 30 pm on 4 March. He was arrested for possession of 4.2 gms of MDMA, an electronic weighing machine, and a cache of empty zip-lock packets. His biggest customers? School and college-going teenagers. Many of them were B.Tech students, barely out of their teens, said the police.
“Most of his customers were below 21. He started selling a few months ago but the trend of young peddlers is on the rise in the state just like the usage of it,” said an inspector who was part of the raid.
Of the 41,53 NDPS cases registered across the state between 1 January 2023, and 1 June 2024, Ernakulum district accounted for 8,567—the highest in the state. Of these, 6,436 were from Kochi.
The party drug MDMA is having its moment in Kerala. The stimulant that’s also known to cause hallucinations goes by various street names— molly, ecstasy, X, and XTC. Seizures of it increased by over 65 per cent in just one year, according to police and excise officials.
In 2016, there was no MDMA in seizures recorded by the excise department. By 2022, a whopping 7,775.425 gm of the drug was seized by the department. It was a similar case with the recreational drug methamphetamine, which first caught the attention of the excise department in 2021. At the time, around 88.806 gm of the drug was seized. By 2022, over 2,400 grams had been seized.
In the first two months of 2025, 588 children under 18 sought treatment at de-addiction centres across Kerala. In response, the government will launch a comprehensive ‘Kerala model’ anti-drug campaign starting April 1.
“Bengaluru is the closest hub from where drugs, especially MDMA and meth variants, flow into Kerala, with Chennai being another key supply point. Kerala’s 590-km coastline makes it highly vulnerable to drug smuggling. Adding to the challenge, Kochi is a major tourist destination with two railway stations and an international airport, making it a hotspot for trafficking,” said a senior police officer from Kochi.
According to state Excise Minister MB Rajesh, 3,568 raids were conducted between 5 and 12 March under Operation Clean Slate, leading to the seizure of drugs worth Rs 1.9 crore.
To combat this growing crisis, the Kerala Police launched Operation D-Hunt, a statewide crackdown targeting drug networks, particularly those supplying educational institutions. During a week-long special drive in early March 2025, the operation led to the arrest of 2,854 individuals suspected of drug trafficking. The state government also extended the duration of Operation D-Hunt till 31 March.
Earlier this month, the Kochi City Police carried out a pre-dawn raid, seizing 300 gms of MDMA from a hotel in Fort Kochi. The operation involved 40 officers.
At around 6 am, five officers knocked on the hotel room door booked by the suspects. The police arrested two women and three men inside, all allegedly involved in drug trafficking. Among them was a well-educated woman from Pune. The MDMA, reportedly sourced from outside India, was packed and ready for distribution, said a police officer who was part of the raid.
The bust was part of the intensified crackdown on narcotics in Kerala, with authorities increasingly relying on digital surveillance to track drug deals conducted over encrypted messaging apps and darknet markets. The Excise Department has also ramped up its efforts, running parallel operations to curb the growing drug menace in the state.
“Drugs are being sold by courier services, dark web, and through cryptocurrency as well. We are fighting on every front to tackle the situation,” said Maju T.M., Deputy Commissioner of Excise, Kochi.
Most drug transactions in Kerala are faceless, often conducted through the dark web and cryptocurrency. On the ground, the authorities have identified around 1,300 drug-peddling ‘black spots’ across the state—isolated roads, abandoned buildings, beachside shacks, certain bus stops, and even spots near educational institutions where dealers discreetly operate.
“Traffickers are now using Instagram, the dark web, and crypto transactions to sell drugs, often luring students with free samples. We are actively working with the schools and colleges for prevention programmes and awareness programmes,” said Maju.
Meanwhile, the police have recorded an uptick in drug-related violent crimes. Cases in the last three months highlight this disturbing trend. A 60-year-old man was hacked to death on 24 December 2024 in Varkala for opposing drug use in his district. In Kozhikode, a 28-year-old man died after swallowing MDMA packets to evade arrest on 25 January. On 18 January, a 25-year-old addict brutally murdered his mother—recovering from brain surgery—allegedly as “punishment for birthing him”, according to the police.
“We have seen a clear link between drug addiction and rising crime,” said a senior police officer from Kochi. “From theft and assaults to violent murders, addicts are resorting to crime to fund their addiction.”
Recovery with therapy
Maju and his team work closely with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the police to dismantle drug networks while also collaborating with Vimukthi de-addiction centres to support young people in recovery by providing counseling and therapy. Their Kochi-based counseling centre, established in 2018, provides direct assistance to individuals struggling with addiction. The center offers one-on-one therapy, group counseling, and awareness programmes, primarily conducted in person to foster deeper engagement.
“When I first came here, I thought my life was over. But here, I found people who understood me, and who didn’t judge me.”
About 30 kilometres from Kochi, a women’s de-addiction centre run by a church, with some government support, stands quietly amid thick greenery. Though the centre hasn’t received direct financial aid from the government, its 20-bed facility is always full, reflecting the growing need for rehabilitation spaces for women battling addiction.
Inside, the atmosphere is both structured and hopeful. The centre has a small office, counseling rooms, and a communal space where the women study, draw, and write. Their artwork—raw expressions of their struggles and healing—hangs on an iron mesh that encloses the centre. The facility remains fully locked, ensuring security, but just beyond the bars, tall trees sway, offering a glimpse of the outside world.
On warm afternoons, the women sit near the mesh, feeling the wind on their faces as they read or reflect. Their dormitories, located just beside the common area, house six to seven beds per room, reinforcing the sense of shared recovery.
“When I first came here, I thought my life was over. But here, I found people who understood me, and who didn’t judge me. Now, when I look outside through the mesh, I don’t just see the world—I see hope,” said a 19 year old woman at the centre.
Over the years, there has been a notable increase in the number of people seeking help, driven by growing awareness and intensified anti-drug efforts in Kerala. While the centre does not publicly disclose the exact number of people counseled, statewide de-addiction initiatives have reached over 1.5 lakh individuals. The facility is staffed by trained counselors and social workers, with referrals available for doctors and psychiatrists when needed.
“Right now, there are only three [government-run] counseling centers in Kerala, but more are coming. Every month, we follow up on every recovery case, visiting individuals to track their progress. We also identify new cases regularly and extend help to those in need,” Maju added. The three counselling centres are over and above the de-addiction centres run under the Vimukthi Mission.
Reports show that young women are especially vulnerable, often introduced to drugs by boyfriends or predators seeking to exploit them.
The crisis spares no class—from slum dwellers to affluent families, addiction is tearing households apart.
ThePrint, Nootan Sharma
The father of a 26-year-old proudly hosted a small celebration for friends and family when his son secured admission to an engineering college. Wanting to provide the best for him, he enrolled him in a hostel just 15 kilometres from home. But his pride turned to devastation when, during an unannounced visit, he found his son under the influence—his dreams for him unraveling in an instant.
“Right now the approach is about prevention. To stop the kids and make them aware but if it doesn’t get controlled in the next few years then we will have to focus more on recovery but how many de-addiction centers will you open?” asked Diana Joseph, founder of Project Venda, which has been working in Kerala to help children get over the addiction. She has received several awards from the UN for the work done in Kerala.
“Kerala is going through a drug crisis that has now become a health crisis.”
Kerala has received a total of Rs 13.12 crore under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR)over the past three years—Rs 5.96 crore in 2020-21, Rs 3.62 crore in 2021-22, and Rs 3.54 crore in 2022-23. While significant, this is far less than what states like Maharashtra (Rs 38.51 crore) and Odisha (Rs 30.04 crore) have received during the same period. Despite this investment, the demand for de-addiction services in Kerala has surged, with beneficiaries increasing from 4,239 in 2020-21 to 10,385 in 2022-23, highlighting the growing scale of the drug crisis in the state.
“Early detection is crucial, but we are not focusing enough on it. The sooner we identify addiction, the easier it is to bring a person back. We’ve also seen a clear shift from alcohol to MDMA and other synthetic drugs because they offer a sharp, long-lasting high, don’t smell, and require only small doses,” said Dr C.J. John, MD (Psychiatric Medicine), Medical Trust Hospital, Kochi. “It often starts as experimentation or a thrill but spirals into a devastating situation. Our approach to tackling this crisis needs to change.”
Experts say Kerala’s drug crisis is no longer just a law enforcement issue but a growing public health emergency. With children as young as eight being exposed to substances, activists warn that without urgent intervention, the state could soon face an overwhelming de-addiction burden.
“Kerala is going through a drug crisis that has now become a health crisis. We are seeing cases of 8-9-year-olds getting exposed to drugs. It’s alarming. The drug issue is penetrating into society. The government is working on it but we need to do more,” said Joseph,
She added that if enough action is not taken now, it will be too late.
Deaddiction centres and broken families
“The addiction has not just ruined her life but our entire family as well. We have been boycotted by our relatives.”
In the past year, a 20-year-old girl has been through two de-addiction centres, but her battle with addiction rages on. Her mother, once a high-earning professional, left her job to fight a different war—one that consumes her every waking moment. Her office desk has been replaced by an altar of prayers, her emails by whispered pleas to God.
Every week, she walks into the de-addiction centre, a Jesus locket clutched around her neck, searching for a sign—a flicker of hope in her daughter’s eyes. Each visit leaves her with the same question: Will this be the time my daughter finally looks better?
“She was my sweet little girl. The addiction has not just ruined her life but our entire family as well. We have been boycotted by our relatives. My husband lives abroad. I pray everyday for her recovery,” said the 42-year-old mother.
She blames the state for it.
“I should have moved out from Kerala. Maybe I could have stopped my daughter from the addiction. But for now, I can just pray,” she added.
The young woman doesn’t talk to her mother much. It was five years ago when she was exposed to drugs by her boyfriends. It was just a matter of time before she realised that she couldn’t spend one day without MDMA or LSD.
“She has been exposed to so many dangerous drugs but these two were constant. She had a good life, and educated parents but she believes they don’t love her. This is the main cause that drives her to the drugs again and again,” said Dhanlakshmi, one of the managers of the de-addiction centre.
Her mother’s pain is mirrored in the mother of the 15-year-old who decided to give up drugs after suffering from intense nosebleeds.
Unlike some parents who visit every week, she can only manage two visits a month, each trip a silent prayer for change. Unlike her mother, the daughter doesn’t have faith, it was shattered by the very world she once trusted.
“I tried it for the first time with my boyfriend before getting physical with him. I didn’t have to pay for that. I started with ganja but later on, I tried having MDMA, later he left me for another girl,” said the 15-year-old girl wearing a black suit-salwar.
The father of a 26-year-old young man has been avoiding all the family functions for the last few years. His social circle has reduced only to a close friend, his wife, and his daughter. He has started speaking to his son again after five years. He got to know about his son’s addiction when he visited his son’s hostel with his wife and found him high.
“I started to reduce his pocket money thinking that if he didn’t have money he would quit drugs. But I was wrong. He continued it. In COVID, he was in our home using the drugs inside his room,” said 62-year-old Pillai.
College, campus and culture
“For the longest time, I used to think that it was cool to use drugs,”
Pillai’s son was also exposed to drugs by his friends in his first year of college. He has progressed from ganja to LSD in the last five months. Now, he is trying to get sober.
“My father always cursed me. I feel bad that my family had to go through a lot of embarrassment and the stigma will never leave. For the longest time, I used to think that it was cool to use drugs,” said the 26-year-old.
Under the shade of a sprawling banyan tree, a group of students at a prominent engineering college in Kerala huddled together, their laughter masking the subtle exchange happening within the circle. Such scenes, once rare, have become increasingly common across campuses in the state. Earlier, students were seen consuming alcohol but now they have become careful, everything is being done behind the curtains.
“Five to 10 years ago, students mostly consumed alcohol, but now they’ve shifted to drugs—and they’re far more discreet and coordinated about it. Unlike before, we rarely see it happening on campus. They’ve found alternative spaces outside college, which need to be investigated. The entire campus culture has changed,” said Vinod Prapoyil, professor at Maharaja College.
Now, students can get their cocktail of drugs in just 15 minutes. Most of the deliveries Sebi’s clients were from 15-year-olds to 29-year-olds, both men and women. He delivered the most to colleges.
“There used to be permanent deliveries as well. Drug use is quite normal in colleges but now in schools as well. A lot of students collect from the shady corners outside of the school,” he added.
According to Diana Joseph, drug deals target kids as an easy source of income. “They are easy to fool and dealers see it as an investment,” she said.
“These substances don’t just create a temporary high—they rewire the brain, especially the areas controlling judgment and impulse.”
Cinema and influence
Malayalam cinema has seen a rise in films that depict drug use in a casual or even comedic light. The 2013 film Kili Poyi, often referred to as Mollywood’s first stoner movie, follows two friends on a drug-fueled adventure, presenting substance use as harmless fun. Mariyam Vannu Vilakkoothi (2020) takes a similar approach, using marijuana as a plot device for humour and chaos. More recently, Nalla Samayam (2023) sparked controversy and even legal action for allegedly promoting MDMA use.
“We are debating in the UN that there should be some regulations on this kind of content. Kids today don’t have role models.”
“Some movies make drug use look casual, even cool, instead of showing its real consequences. That’s where cinema contributes—by shaping perceptions, for better or worse,” said a screenwriter based in Kochi on the condition of anonymity.
The films and content being produced today rarely question drugs, instead, they often promote both violence and substance abuse.
“Drugs in the film industry aren’t new. Decades ago, people used substances like Dexedrine to keep up with the demands of a creative lifestyle. But today, it’s no longer just within the industry—drug use has spread across all sectors, from IT professionals to school kids,” he said.
Questions have also been raised about the lack of regulation on such content.
“We are debating in the UN that there should be some regulations on this kind of content. Kids today don’t have role models. A 12 or 13-year-old watching these films believes drug use brings pleasure and is not harmful,” said Joseph.
The cycle of dependence on drugs traps users in addiction, pushing them toward higher doses as their tolerance grows—escalating the risk of overdose with each use.
“These substances don’t just create a temporary high—they rewire the brain, especially the areas controlling judgment and impulse. Even after the effects wear off, the craving lingers, pulling the user back. Over time, the body builds tolerance, forcing them to seek stronger doses just to feel the same rush,” said Joseph.
Sebi, now free from addiction and out of the de-addiction centre, is determined to leave his past behind and rebuild his life. He is searching for a fresh start. His mother, who works at a department store, has been quietly saving money—hoping to support his second chance at life.
Just like Sebi, the 15-year-old girl at the deaddiction centre is recovering not just from drugs but also from her need for acceptance and love.
“I am recovering—not just from addiction, but from everything that broke me. I used ganja, hashish, and MDMA, but I also got addicted to love,” she said with a smile on her face.
“I never got love from my family, so I thought my boyfriends loved me. But in the end, I fell in love with addiction itself and now it’s time to breakup.”
(Edited by Ratan Priya)
Kerala is a educational miracle. Punjab agricultural miracle. These should be emulated so the entire population of India is kept under control using drugs. Those parts that refuse to submit or change should be given to Chona to rule. In return China will teach us how to make money and control the non Han.
Oh! Communist junkies. Communist schools taught them capitalism is bad instead of teaching that drugs are bad.