Surrey’s Punjabi Community Breaks the Silence on Addiction

In many rural communities across Punjab, small amounts of opium are viewed much like a couple of drinks after a long day’s work. Doda — dried poppy husk — is commonly used by farmers and farmworkers to ease pain, endure long hours of physical labour and treat everyday ailments. It is also widely used among men in the trucking and transportation industries, where, though illegal, its use is considered socially acceptable.

Addiction, however, is another matter. As in many cultures, problematic drug use carries deep stigma, even as opioid use remains widespread.

Those same cultural attitudes have travelled with Punjab’s diaspora, shaping how substance use, addiction and recovery are understood within Canada’s growing Punjabi communities.

According to a journal on drug abuse in rural Punjab, at least one-third of youth consume opium daily. Punjab sits along the border with Pakistan, placing it on a major trafficking route for opiates originating in the Golden Crescent — Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran — where drugs are smuggled alongside legitimate goods, making them relatively accessible and fuelling a cycle of distribution and corruption.

Those dynamics are particularly relevant in Surrey, B.C., where nearly one in three residents identifies as Punjabi, making it one of the largest Punjabi communities in Canada.

As the diaspora has grown, so too has substance use and addiction. For some newcomers, the pressures of building a new life — navigating language barriers, having professional credentials go unrecognized, experiencing racism and balancing cultural expectations and identity with the demands of assimilation — can compound stress and isolation, increasing vulnerability to problematic substance use.

Susan Bhatti, senior manager of mental health and family well-being at Diversecity Community Resources Society in Surrey, oversees free substance use counselling and education programs offered in multiple languages.

While addiction is a growing concern across communities, Bhatti says alcohol is often woven into celebrations in many Punjabi families, from birthdays to weddings, making it more difficult to recognize when use has crossed into harm.

“What begins as social and celebratory use,” she said, “often masks unresolved trauma.”

Women, she says, face even greater barriers to seeking help.

“Women are much less likely to come forward because of stigma and fear of judgment from family and community,” Bhatti said.

As a result, women struggling with addiction are often under-represented in official statistics. Bhatti says patriarchal gender expectations remain influential in many Punjabi families, where behaviour perceived as bringing shame can affect not only the individual but the family’s reputation within the broader community.

The fear of dishonouring one’s family can make seeking treatment especially difficult.

‘The hardest work is often just beginning’

Bhatti says it is often impossible to pinpoint where addiction begins. Some people arrive in Canada already using substances, while others develop problematic use after migration.

“When Punjabi students and families migrate to Canada, they may be faced with the stress of settlement and academic pressure that can lead to substances to numb the pain,” she said.

According to CBC, research from community organizations suggests international students are particularly vulnerable to drug and alcohol use as they navigate isolation, financial strain and academic expectations. Further, PressProgress reported in 2023 that, according to local faith leaders and community workers, Punjabi international students in Surrey are dying at high rates from drug overdose. But the true scale of the issue remains unknown because health authorities rarely collect substance use data by immigration status or nationality.

Longtime substance user Raj Takhar, who lives in Vancouver, says another factor is simply access. Drugs are easier to obtain in Canada than many newcomers expect, creating temptation for people already struggling.

And although Sikhism prohibits the use of intoxicants, Takhar says those teachings have not been enough to curb widespread substance use.

He believes the issue remains largely hidden because many in the Punjabi community are reluctant to talk openly about addiction. Even Punjabi media, he says, have been “lukewarm” in covering drug use, despite its impact on families.

Bhatti says many people struggling with substance use come to believe they are failures. As addiction erodes trust with family, friends and the broader community, shame and isolation deepen. Over time, many internalize the judgment they face, making it even harder to ask for help.

Recovery is further complicated by language. Punjabi has no direct equivalent for terms such as anxiety, depression or substance misuse, making it more difficult to recognize and talk about mental health and addiction.

Even after someone stops using drugs or alcohol, Bhatti says, the hardest work is often just beginning.

“Once someone gets clean, they have to deal with the emotions, memories and consequences they were avoiding in the first place,” she said.

For Bhatti, breaking the silence around addiction is an essential first step. Recovery begins with acknowledging the problem — something that can be especially difficult in communities where stigma remains deeply rooted.

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Local Journalism Initiative reporter Amy Romer edited this article. Romer works as a mentor for Megaphone’s The Shift Peer Newsroom in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The Shift is made up of a diverse group of individuals with lived experience of poverty, who are reporting from the DTES instead of being reported on.