Youth at risk: The alarming issue of drug addiction in academic institutions in Pakistan

•This research is valuable for further research to formulate the strategy on youth drugs addiction in universities.•The presented results endorsed the importance of youth safety from drugs at university level.•This study will be useful to analyze the response and perception of youths on drugs addiction cases. A rapid increase in drug addiction among students of academic institutions has emerged as a serious social problem confronting the contemporary Pakistani society that constitutes one of the highest proportions of young people in the world. This study was designed to explore the processes that lead to drug addiction among students of higher education institutions and how it affects their everyday activities. To gain insights to the phenomenon, the study deployed the qualitative research approach involving in-depth interviews with drug addict students from three public-sector universities in Pakistan. The data were analysed through narrations and thematic analysis. The results unveil that students consume drugs in the universities without much restriction and risks as the academic institutions have not taken serious steps to address the issue in their premises. There is an urgent need for Pakistan to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the alarming problem of drug addiction in academic institutions involving all the stakeholders to interrupt the supply chain and punish those who are involved in the heinous crime of trading illicit drugs.