A joint strategy to fight drugs
Preventive and rehabilitative steps are long-term solutions
Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Chandigarh have joined forces to fight what has been described in international media as a crisis more deadly than the 1980s Sikh conflict: Punjab’s drug problem. Porous borders and proximity to international drug routes make these states most vulnerable.
This new joint strategy and the recent regional conference on drugs to tackle the menace will have chief ministers meet every six months, with nodal officers meeting more regularly to share intelligence and information on ground realities. One thing is clear: Criminalising drug addiction is not a strong enough deterrent [the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Act (NDPS Act)]. The best solution is effective rehabilitation facilities for addicts to recover and re-enter society, through what’s known as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. This is what the new ‘Central/common Secretariat’, Panchkula, Haryana, should aim to establish in all the affected states. According the study ‘Epidemiology of substance use and dependence in the state of Punjab, India’ by the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, one in six persons have been dependent on substance (the most commonly used illicit drug being opioids) in their lifetime. This could quickly spread.
This joint strategy could be a game-changer, with governments, police forces and experts from all states working together. But drug abuse is far more insidious than we think. Over a prolonged period, addicts lose cognitive control over their addiction. As a preventive, the need for an anti-drug environment is important across borders: addressing the drug problem in schools through awareness campaigns. The Himachal Pradesh High Court addressed the need to create mass awareness as part of the school curriculum. Addicts also need a conducive environment to reach out for help. So far, the de-addiction centres have had little impact. Awareness and employment drives are the only ways to ensure a long-term solution and the joint effort is a good start in what will be a long and painful fight against addiction.