There is no need to whisper any password to buy the pre-packed stuff, which sells for Rs 10 a goli of charas or five to 10 gm of marijuana at this local drugstore. (Express Newsline managed to procure the charas at the same price). Never mind that June 26 is World Anti-Drugs Day. Collegians intent on finding a short-cut to heaven frequent it anyway, as constables indifferent to the goings-on pound the beat in the vicinity.

The Mumbai police admit that drug seizures have reduced considerably as traffickers think up smarter ways to smuggle narcotics. They say the trend caught on in the early '90s. Deputy Commissioner of Police Dilip Shrirao of theNarcotics Cell attributes this to the untraceable and secretive techniques adopted by traffickers.

But the bottomline is: Buying narcotics in Mumbai is as easy as selling candy to a baby, or for that matter, distributing `prasad' in a temple.

Dr Yusuf Merchant, founder of the Drug Abuse Information, Rehabilitation and Research Centre (DAIRRC), says parental neglect and the influence of the Western media are prime reasons for youth to drift towards drugs. Hence, even in today's world of sophisticated communications, people find it increasingly difficult to get one simple message through - that drugs are enemy number one.

``We want parents to have at least one meal a day with their children as this is one way to bring a family closer and distance it from drugs,'' says Dr Merchant, who has been working with drug addicts for 16 years. Saying there are nearly 1,00,000 drug addicts in Mumbai, he explains that India has become a transit country for international drug traffickers, sandwitched as it isbetween the world's largest heroin producing regions - Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan (the Golden Crescent) in the West and Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia (the Golden Triangle) in the Far East.

An important depot for narcotics, Mumbai has its own intricate network of peddlers, who cater to every economic strata. The only requirement: a desperate desire to waft away into a mind-altering state of sheer oblivion.

For the not-so-affluent, brown sugar is available at joints inside the Cross Maidan near Churchgate and in the seedy bylanes of Fort (near the General Post Office), which are heavily guarded by African nationals. The deadly stuff they hawk courses through the veins of junkies wasting away behind shelters, either in cold turkey or inhaling powders of various hues. Those who are flat broke, meanwhile, huddle over surrogate chemicals like paints, glue and petroleum. For many, rehabilitation is not an option. The drug has already taken control.

Rehabilitation Centres 1) DAIRRC (Dr Yusuf Merchant):Sitaram Building, H-Block, opposite Haj House, Crawford Market. # 3427339/45.

2) Kripa Rehabilitation Centre (Arthur D'Mello): Andheri (West): # 6208573/ 6405411.

3) Forum Against Drugs: # 2045441.

4) Fight Against Narcotics: #6456115/ 6365932

Citizens will also be rewarded for providing information to the police's Narcotics Cell on numbers: 2623175; 8020711-ext 320 (Kandivli unit); 8211414-ext 232 (Andheri unit); 5152539 (Ghatkopar unit); and 4140909-ext 384 for south-central Mumbai unit of the narcotics cell.