Ban sale of non-prescribed whitener ink, Juvenile Justice Board tells Mantralaya

Whitener abuse is the first step towards drug addiction for most youths

A member of the Juvenile Justice Board in Mumbai has demanded a ban on over the counter (OTC) sale of whiteners which schoolchildren use as a drug.

Whitener inhalation addiction is the first step towards drug addiction. Last month, the Delhi government implemented a ban for OTC sale of white ink and is punishable as per the new Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

Dipak Chattopadhyay, a member of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), has submitted a letter on May 6 to MN Jamandar, the Law and Judiciary Department, Mantralaya, Sumeet Mallick, Chief Secretary of Maharashtra and Rajnish Seth, Principal Secretary

of Home Department at Mantralaya, to issue an order on the ban on the sale of over the counter sale of whitener across Maharashtra to check drug abuse in children and ensure

that those supplying the drug should be booked under the new Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 with at least seven years’ jail term as effective in Delhi. Datta Padsalgikar, the Commissioner of Mumbai Police, and Shivdeep Lande, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Anti-Narcotics. (A copy of the letter is available with the Free Press Journal).

According to Dipak Chattopadhyay, a member of JJB, “Whiteners should be banned since it is being used as a drug by school children to get a kick. It causes mental imbalance in children and affects their mental growth.”

The Board has also asked the Delhi government to ensure that those supplying white ink to the children should be booked under the new law punishable with at least a sevenyear jail term. The Juvenile Justice Board in Delhi observed that the drug deaddiction centres in the national capital are overcrowded. The Board directed the Delhi government to assign one centre per district. The Board had observed that at least 160 children are staying at two centres with a capacity of 100 people. The Board had directed the Commissioner of Police, Delhi to ensure that those supplying these drugs to the children are booked under the new Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

According to Shivdeep Lande, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Anti-Narcotics cell, “We follow the directions of the government. If it is implemented effectively, we can keep checks and balances on the sale of whitener over the counter. Presently, it is not covered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.”