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Drug Menace in Punjab

Saransh Goyal

ABSTRACT


Drug menace is an issue of paramount importance in India and especially in the northern state of the

country, Punjab. Despite the numerous countermeasures that have been taken by the Government of India and the State Government of Punjab, drug abuse is still a huge problem for the people, the government and the administration. Most of the drug substances are not grown in India, rather they come from neighboring countries. Punjab is on the border of Pakistan and in close proximity to the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan). Thus, it makes the state of Punjab vulnerable to drug trafficking. The number of crime cases registered under the NDPS act has been rising since the beginning of this century, and there are plenty which goes unreported. This problem is more prevalent in the youth when compared to the general population. Be it licit or illicit drugs, drug abuse has had an adverse effect primarily on the youth of the state. The reason behind drug abuse can be anything from something as little as just fitting into your peers to the desperate need of dealing with stress. Referring to various journal papers, newspaper articles, and government reports, this paper seeks to understand how big the issue of drug abuse is in Punjab and how is it affecting the lives of the people, if age actually plays a role in drug abuse, and how the government and the people collectively can tackle the issue. For this paper, data from secondary sources were taken, primarily from reports of government institutions.


INTRODUCTION


The international drug market has a revenue of almost $500 billion and is the third biggest business

in the world, only just behind petroleum and arms. Almost 200 million people around the globe

consume some kind of a drug (Miller, et al., 1993). Due to drug abuse, there has been a significant

loss to human life. According to a report by UNODC (2014), globally nearly 2 Lakh people were

killed due to some kind of drug abuse. Although the reason and extent of illegal substance use

among men and women vary from one country to another, men are 2-3 times more likely than

women to have consumed an illegal substance (WHO, 1994). Similarly, the state of Punjab in India

is currently undergoing what is possibly the worst drug war the state has ever faced in its history.

According to a report tabled in the Indian Parliament in 2014, Punjab is on second in terms of

drugs seized, only behind Mizoram. In 2013, the state of Punjab accounted for almost half of the

cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Act (Sethi, 2015). This paper seeks to

understand how grave the situation is in the northern state of the Indian subcontinent, and how this

problem has been directly affecting the people of Punjab (particularly the youth). Most of the drug

substances are not grown in India, rather they come from neighbouring countries. Punjab is on the

border of Pakistan and in close proximity to the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan).

Thus, it makes the state of Punjab vulnerable to drug trafficking. The general perspective of the

paper is that the state of Punjab is so deeply stuck in this issue that if anytime sooner, a strong

action is not taken against it, then it only seems to get graver with time. The author is of the opinion

that to solve this problem, the state not only needs to introduce a strict zero-tolerance policy but

also needs to implement it from the grass-root level to bring about a change to help the state and

its people. To bring about this change, the cooperation of the public with the administration is a

must, or else this problem can never be resolved. The paper seeks to study the various factors that

affect the use of substances. The main objective of this paper to understand if age actually plays a

role in drug abuse and if the use of drugs leads to major ailments like HIV/AIDS. The paper will

also seek to find out possible solutions to fight this ongoing drug war in the state.


THEORETICAL BACKGROUND


There is not enough literature on the drug issue of India and specifically the state of Punjab. But,

there are enough journals that have studied the causes and impact of this issue in the rest of the

world, namely in the United States of America, South American, African, European and Middle-

Eastern countries.


According to Odejide (2006) said that the use of psychoactive drugs in Africa has been taking

place for a relatively lesser timeframe than the use of conventional substances like alcohol,

cannabis, and khat. The introduction of prescription drugs has increased the use of psychoactive

drugs lately, but conventional substances still remain the most widely used drugs on the continent.

More recently, trafficking in cocaine and heroin has made the availability of drugs easier than it

ever was. Despite the measures that have been taken by the local authorities of respective nations,

this issue seems only to be on the rise in the continent. Government policies to tackle this issue of

drug/substance abuse are inclined towards such measures that may not encourage the people to

participate. Lack of funding, poor infrastructure, lack of skilled labour and lack of proper treatment

facilities are the reasons why this is still a huge issue. The author suggested that the cooperation

of the general masses is a must to contain this severe issue (Odejide, 2006).


According to Ziaaddini & Ziaaddiani (2005), their study tells that, like in most of the third-world

nations, in Iran too, the issue of substance abuse is more prevalent in males than females. The most

common form of drugs in Iran is opium, obtaining other drugs like cocaine, heroin, and LSD is

not an easy job. Drug abuse is one of the world’s most complicated issues and many global powers

are finding it hard to deal with it. In Africa, the most commonly used drug is cannabis, in North

America; cannabis, heroin, and cocaine are the most common drugs. South America, being the

highest producer of cocaine, cocaine is the most commonly used drug, while in Europe; cannabis,

heroin, and ecstasy are the most used drugs. In Asia, opium and cannabis are the most used drugs.

Out of all the subjects in this study, 50.7% were male and the rest 49.7% were female, with people

aged between 12-39 formed 77.3% of the whole study. The study suggests that the cultural

traditions towards substances do affect the type and amount of drug use (Ziaaddini & Ziaaddini,

2005).


The making and use of law enforcement dominated policies have led to a tense relationship

between contemporary legislation and culturally ingrained substance use patterns. This situation

is made up of changing patterns of substance use inside India. This is the consequence of a number

of factors that are interrelated in nature; the increasing and rising popularity of non-conventional

forms of substance use which have been introduced in India through urbanization, tourism, and

leakage from illicit drug production in the nearby areas. Also, there is evidence to suggest that due

to the changes in policies tackling the drug abuse issue, harder forms of drugs have started to get

consumed by addicts and with more harmful modes of consumption, primarily through injection.

This change in the behaviour of the user is important because of the role played by injecting drug

use which leads to HIV/AIDS and other blood-related infections. The handling of this problem of

drug abuse has become a serious cause for concern and will have severe consequences for the

society and the country, and will hamper the development of them. (Charles, et al., 2005)

According to Tarapot (1997), the issue of drug abuse is also prevalent in the north-eastern states

of India. Assam being in close proximity to the Golden Triangle (Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar)

is prone to heavy drug influx from its border with neighbouring countries. Drug addiction in youth

and the spread of HIV/AIDS has reached to an alarming extent. The author tells us that the major

drug consumed in north-eastern India is heroin and it is produced majorly in the Golden Triangle

region.


This epidemic of drug abuse in the younger generations has reached an alarming level. Change in

cultural values, increasing debt, urbanization, increasing debt, migration and industrialization have

resulted in the loosening of the traditions and cultures that the Indians used to follow leading to

making an individual vulnerable to the strains and stresses of modern-day life. The nature of the

drug, an individual’s character and his/her immediate environment is also behind drug abuse in

India. Heroin and Cannabis, and other Indian-produced pharmaceutical drugs are the most used

drugs in India. According to a report by the UN, more than 1 million heroin addicts are present in

India at the moment. Substance abuse is a complex issue, which has various cultural, biological,

social, historical, geographical and economic implications. The disintegration of the cultural joint-

family system, absence of love of both the parents and care in modern-day families where both

have jobs, decrease in old religious and moral values etc have led to an increase in the number of

substance addicts who consume drugs to escape and get free from the harsh realities of their lives.

Substance abuse has led to an adverse impact on society. Due to this, the crime rate has risen in

the past. Substance addicts use crime to in turn pay for their drugs. Drugs remove inhibition and

impair judgment forcing the individual to commit offences. Incidences and cases of eve-teasing,

assault, clashes between two or more groups and impulsive murders increase with drug abuse.

Other than affecting the financial condition of the individual and his family, addiction increases

conflicts and fights and causes unnecessary emotional pain for each member of the family. With

most of the drug users belonging to the productive age group of between 18-35 years, the loss in

terms of human potential is not measurable. The loss to the physical health, psychological

condition, moral and intellectual growth of the youth is extremely high. Drug abuse in adolescents

is another major area of concern. Drug abuse leads to affect young people’s behaviour. It is

estimated that, in India, by the time most of the boys get to the 9th grade in school, almost 50% of

them have already tried at least 1 of the substances of abuse nature. A rise in incidences of HIV

due to substance addiction adds to the reservoir of infection and diseases in the society and further

burdening the health care system. (Nadeem, et al., 2009).


It is a matter of fact that there is much less emphasis on drug abuse as a social problem in

comparison to how widespread is the menace actually is. In recent years, Punjab has witnessed a

significant rise in drug abuse. Many important years of a person’s adult life are lost due to drug

abuse. Stringent policies should be made and moreover should be implemented properly. The most

common drug substance was opium. (Kalra & Bansal, 2012) In 1976, a study was conducted in

24 rural villages of Punjab alongside the border of Pakistan, and this study also showed that over

6% of people consume opium. (Mohan, et al., 1986) Another study was conducted in the rural

areas of Punjab, which showed that 30% of the population had consumed any illegal substance at

any point of their time, and 28.3% had consumed it in the past 6 months. This study also showed

that opium is the most commonly used drug in Punjab. (Lal & Singh, 1979)


CASE STUDY


The northern agrarian state of India, Punjab has been plagued by the severe problem of drug abuse

for the past few years and its attendant effects have social, economic and medical dimensions. It

is surprising that despite how huge the ongoing war against drugs is, the national media has not

been giving it as much attention as this issue deserves. The current Congress government in the

state elected in early 2017 under the leadership of Capt. Amarinder Singh came into power with a

serious poll promise that the drug issue will be resolved in one month of its taking power and that

the State Government shall have a zero-tolerance policy against the perpetrators of this crime. The

State Government also set up a Special Task Force (STF) of Punjab Police which is headed by a

senior officer of the Punjab Police (Additional Director General of Police rank officer) to tackle

this grave issue. Despite various measures, the State Government has not been able to tackle this

issue as they would have wanted. Drugs have become a major talking point in Punjab now - once

a transit point on the drug route, the state has now become a major consumer base. Sharing a long

553-kilometre border with Pakistan, the state is highly vulnerable to narco-terrorism. The bulk of

these drugs now comes from Afghanistan, and its main route into the state is through the Pakistan

border of Punjab. Though the borders are 24/7 heavily guarded by the Border Security Force

(BSF), cross border gangs and cartels know well how to exploit gaps in the fence. Thus, the issue

of drug abuse is much graver in the border districts of the state. The most popular drugs in the state

are Heroin, commonly known as ‘Chitta’ and Opium, commonly known as ‘Bhukki’. This issue

has affected every section of the society, primarily the youth of the state. Drug consumption in

Punjab is three times the national average. It is astonishing how widespread the issue is, and yet

nothing seems to put an end to it. Due to this problem, the lives of people are in danger, not just

of those of consuming drugs, but also of those who don’t. Despite its hefty cost (not just

monetarily), drugs remain popular among addicts regardless of social class and income. Putting

the family in debt, many addicts have also committed suicide, leaving behind their families with

nothing. This issue must be solved as soon as possible, and that should be the priority of both the

Centre and the State Governments. The State Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh has made

several pleas to the Prime Minister in New Delhi to introduce a national policy to tackle drug

abuse, which will not only help Punjab but other states also if needed. Due financial support to be

given to the State Government to take necessary steps. The people of the state must also cooperate

with the officials, and do whatsoever that is necessary to fight this grave issue of drug/substance

abuse in the state of Punjab.


METHODOLOGY


1. Selection of Data


The sample for this study will include secondary data statistics provided by various sources

and reports. Since drug use remains an illegal activity, collection of data from within the

state would have been a hefty process. The focus of this study remains to find out what

kind of people consume drugs and how these users got affected physically and mentally.


2. Collection and Treatment of Data


The secondary data for this study was collected from several published journals, surveys

and reports of the government agencies of the state and the centre, United Nations Office

on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Health Organization (WHO), NDPS, Lok Sabha

and Rajya Sabha, CMIE States of India and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The data collected spans over a timeframe of the past decade. The data collected will be

treated and analyzed in an intuitive manner.


3. Research Question


The following research question has been proposed for this study:

1. What impact has drug abuse had on society?

2. How serious is this issue?


ANALYSIS


1. Amount of Drugs Seized


Source: Report tabled in the Lok Sabha

Figures in tonnes

The above table shows the number of drugs seized in the states of India. It shows that

Punjab is just second to the north-eastern state Mizoram.


2. Convicted Cases


Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)

Figure tells the % of convicts in the state in comparison to the whole country.

Under the registered convicts of the NDPS Act, In 2014, the state of Punjab constituted

almost 45% of the whole country’s convicts. This is much more than the next highest i.e.

Madhya Pradesh who is just above 10%.


3. Crime Rate


Source: CMIE States of India

The figure is the rate of crime per lakh population


The above graph shows the crime rate of the states which have the highest crime rate under

the NDPS act. As it can be seen, the crime rate in Punjab is way higher than any other state.

The situation is very serious in the state. Drug abuse has seriously led to an adverse impact on the

growth of the society. It has resulted in an increase in the rate of crime in the state. Drug addicts

resort to criminal activities to pay for their drugs and in result that leads to an increase in the crime

state. Marital problems, separated families, fights between two or more groups, eve-teasing and

murders increase with drug abuse. With most of the drug addicts belonging to the age category of

18-35 years, the consequence of drug abuse has on one’s life and his/her family is largely

immeasurable. Women in the state face bigger problems from the issue of drug abuse. Other than

the loss of human life and financial burden, the impact of drug abuse also includes domestic

violence and infection with HIV. Due to drug abuse, the cases of HIV have risen in the state lately.

Because Punjab has more injecting drug users (IDUs) than any other state, it makes it vulnerable

to the huge problem of HIV. The rate of prevalence of HIV in India is 9%, but in the state of

Punjab, it is almost three times i.e. 26%. This rise has been in the last 5 years. According to a study

by Shimona (2015), the state of Punjab has more injecting drug users when compared to the north-

eastern states of India. According to a survey by the Punjab Opioid Survey (2015), much

surprisingly the people more vulnerable to the issue of drug abuse are mostly educated, employed

and the literate class.


SOLUTIONS


As mentioned in the previous chapter, the situation in the state is very serious. The government,

students and teachers, the NGOs must take a serious note of it. Thus, the author recommends the

following measures that must be taken collectively by the people of the state and the government:


1. The State Government should set up more drug rehabilitation centres which follow the

internationally accepted procedures for treating the drug addicts. The Government should

look closely on the Principles of Drug Treatment laid down by the World Health

Organization.


2. The Government should set up a skill development programme for the unemployed youth

like the Udaan scheme in Jammu and Kashmir.


3. The Central Government should take necessary takes to stop cross border drug trafficking.


4. Schools and colleges should make counselling sessions mandatory for students who are

vulnerable.


5. Panchayats in the villages should give incentives to the youth to take part in drug abuse

prevention programmes.


6. Data must be collected at all the levels i.e. block, sub-divisional and district level at a given

period of time, so that the problem is kept in control.


CONCLUSION


To conclude, we can say that the true picture in the state of Punjab is far worse than it is. Although

the issue has come to the attention of the state and the central government’s, due to the media’s

defamatory remarks, there seems to be no end to this issue. Rather than that, the media should

show the ground reality of the issue, so that the people also become aware of how severe the issue

is. The situation is so bad in the state, that when an individual consumes illegal drugs, it only

affects him/her but also affects his/her family. Not only the financial stability, but drug abuse also

affects the mental and physical conditions of a family. As mentioned in the study, drug abuse has

also led to a rise in the crime rate in the state. A rise in the crime rate quite obviously means that

the condition of the state is deteriorating day by day. If not stopped and if adequate measures are

not taken, this problem will only arise in the future and will rise to such a level where it will have

severe consequences. Punjab, a state which is reliant on agriculture largely, today deals with a

huge issue, where its youth is dying of something that should have been controlled if were not for

the negligence of the administrations and governments. To stop this issue, the society and

government should take the aforementioned steps collectively, only then it is going to go down.


 

References


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Mohan, D., Sundaram, K. R., & Sharma, H. K. (1986). A study of drug abuse in rural areas of

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