The business of drugs sprawls from the poppy fields of Afghanistan to the farms of rural Punjab where it lands into the hands and households of the people of the state.
Research has found that opium known as ‘kaali naagini’ in Punjab is readily available and is commonly consumed in small quantities across the northern Indian state.
According to the Punjab Opioid Dependence Survey, which was conducted between February and April 2015, a staggering 230,000 people in the state are addicted to various forms of drugs - four times higher than the global average.
Intravenous drug addict holding a needle ready for injection Source: Photonica World
'If you can’t beat drugs, regulate them'
As the drug crisis deepens, some politicians are clamouring to legalise the cultivation, sale and consumption of opium and its by-product poppy husk in Punjab.
Leading the crusade is Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s former MP Dharamvir Gandhi, a cardiologist, who had also introduced a private member’s bill in the Lower House in 2016, seeking legalisation of intoxicants like opium, in order to enable medically supervised and state-regulated supply of traditionally used natural drugs for a common user.
Those in favour of the move believe that legalisation will ensure the quality and quantity of drugs being consumed. Drugs sold by dealers are often adulterated, increasing the risk of suffering adverse effects, they claim.
In addition, Dr Gandhi maintains that the decriminalisation of such drugs will go a long way in demolishing "the nexus of politicians, police and peddlers, who are spreading the menace of harmful artificial and synthetic drugs into the blood of youth in the country,” as quoted by India Today.
Will legalisation of opium end the drug problem in Punjab? Source: AAP
The most recent person to join the debate is Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu who said that there is nothing wrong in legalising the poppy cultivation claiming that opium is any day better than heroin.
The proposal has however been shot down by state chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh who underscored that a national drug policy is needed to clamp down on the drug menace.
Meanwhile, Mr Sidhu's pitch has given ammunition to the opposition Shiromani Akali Dal who claims that this signifies that the Punjab government has failed to curtail the drug problem in the state.
"Sidhu's statement is enough to prove that the state government has failed to curb the menace of drugs. The chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh had promised to get rid of the drugs within a month, now his cabinet colleague is demanding legalisation of poppy cultivation,” said Akali Dal spokesperson, Daljeet Cheema.
“The chief minister should explain how poppy cultivation and its easy availability will end the addiction.”
