Increasing Cases Of Substance Abuse In India: A Deeper View Into The Role Of Law (By-Tanushree Das)
Increasing Cases Of Substance Abuse In India: A Deeper
View Into The Role Of Law
Authored
by-Tanushree Das
Student
of LLM (International Law), Chandigarh University
Abstract
There
are multiple states in India that are still struggling to implement the NDPS
act for the management of substance abuse. Substance abuse is one of the oldest concerns
for the people in India in legal, medical and psychological perspectives. It
can simply be defined as the harmful utilisation of any substance for the
purpose of mood altering. The term substances can include any kind of drug, be
it illegal or not. “The Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985” is
the legislative instrument putting restrictions on the abuse of substances in
India. Despite the restrictions imposed by the government and the effectiveness
of this particular act, India has been facing multiple cases every year
regarding substance abuse.It is
not an unacceptable fact that substance abuse has long been an enemy to the
country and its development as it is not only affecting the lives of youths,
but at the same time it is putting restrictions on the growth of the Indian
economy.
Introduction
Substance abuse is one of the oldest concerns
for the people in India in legal, medical and psychological perspectives. It
can simply be defined as the harmful utilisation of any substance for the
purpose of mood altering. The term substances can include any kind of drug, be
it illegal or not. Substance abuse is a big concern as abuse is addressed as a
process where an individual is utilising a substance in an intended or a
recommended way in order to meet their level of pleasure. There are multiple
side effects and negative consequences of harmful substance abuse. Based on
this concern, the Indian government has long been trying to make the use of
certain substances illegal. “The Narcotic Drugs
and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985” is
the legislative instrument putting restrictions on the abuse of substances in
India[1].
Despite the restrictions imposed by the government and the effectiveness of
this particular act, India has been facing multiple cases every year regarding
substance abuse. From traditional drugs such as cocaine, heroin and cannabis,
to synthetic drugs like tramadol have increased the number of substance abuse
incidents in India, putting the lives of multiple victims at risk. Considering
the health of the youth along with the entire country, it is high time to think
about the reasons behind continuous substance abuse cases in the country and
how to tackle the same.
Drug Policy
In India
Psychotropic substances and narcotic drugs
have multiple scientific and medical benefits and uses. However, they can also
be trafficked and abused in some cases. Considering this concern India had
taken an approach towards the management of psychotropic substances and
narcotic drugs by introducing the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
Act, 1985[2]. Moreover, according to
Article 47 of the Indian Constitution it dictates that “State shall
endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal
purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health”[3]. Apart from the
prohibition initiated by the NDPS act and the constitution of India, there are
certain international conventions in relation to drug matters that also apply
for India in its cases of substance abuse as India has signed as well as ratified
these conventions and the conventions are as follows:
·
“Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961”
·
“Convention on Psychotropic Substances,
1971”
·
“The UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic
in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988”
Commitment of India for the prevention of
substance abuse and trafficking of the same predates since the coming into
force of all these conventions. The policies of the Indian government have just
been focused on promoting the use of substances for medicinal and scientific
purposes while at the same time the Indian government is also preventing the
diversion of substances from illicit sources as to the matters of prohibiting
illicit traffic as well as being used. In the concern of managing the issues,
the NDPS act has developed different statutory authorities including the
Narcotics Commissioner under Section 5, the Competent Authority under section
68D, and the Administrator under section 68G of the given act.
Despite the precautions and initiatives taken
by the given policies in India, there is no uniform policy in relation to some
issues including injecting drug users or IDUs. Injecting drug users are often
found to share needles. In such cases an addict who is HIV positive and sharing
a syringe for injecting drug may spread the virus among all the group members.
In such cases, no direct policies have been introduced to specifically govern
on these matters. In these kinds of cases, there are two schools of thought
that focus on dealing with IDUs, and these schools include Harm Reduction and
Abstinence Only. In the case of Harm Reduction, the drug addicts are encouraged
to use clean syringes and needles for injecting in order to minimise the risk
of HIV spread. However, on the other hand, in the case of Abstinence Only, it
is believed that the only way to prevent or minimise drug-driven HIV is by
completely abstaining the users from consuming drugs.
Now, given that produce taken by the Indian
government regarding drug management, the second school of thought should be considered
for the application of uniform policy.
However, considering all the applicable
legislative instruments it can be said that in India NDPS is acting as the
primary legislation for the prevention and management of drug abuse under the
governance of Article 47 of the Indian Constitution along with the
above-mentioned international conventions.
Amendments To The NDPS Act
“NDPS
Amendment, 1989”
The first amendment for the NDPS Act was
called for in 1989 after a recommendation was made by a cabinet sub-committee
for making the law more stringent. Following this particular amendment
individuals with events at small amounts of drugs faced long sentences in
prison followed by heavy fines, unless the offender could prove that the drug
was for personal use because in such cases the individual will be subject to
imprisonment for 6 months to 1 year depending on the type of drug. According to
this amendment there was a chance of bail. However, from this amendment it was
also witnessed that individuals got arrested for possessing even a small amount
of drug that was intended for personal use and proof so, where sentence
improvement over 10 years even for a few mg of contraband.
“NDPS
Amendment, 2001”
Following the criticism regarding the horse
as well as the disproportionate sentencing structure in the previous amendment
created a significant momentum for reform. Considering this criticism, in 1998,
another amendment was proposed for the NDPS act in parliament, and it was
finally adopted in 2001. This particular amendment finalised that a sentence
will be proposed for the individual possessing any kind of drug based on the
quantity and type of drug involved in the case; that is whether the drug is
found in a small amount or commercial or intermediate amount.
“NDPS
Amendments, 2014”
The NDPS act was amended for the third time
in 2014 and through this particular amendment, new provisions were introduced
by including some main features. These features are as follows:
ü A new
category of essential narcotic drugs was created, which could be specified and
regulated by the central government uniformly throughout India.
ü The
objective of the given law was widened substances to the promotion of
scientific and medical utilisation of narcotic drugs.
ü Death
penalty was made discretionary in relation to a subsequent offence that
involved a certain quantity of narcotics substances under the governance of
section 31A of the given act. It was also mentioned that the court will be
capable of using the alternative for imposing imprisonment approximately 30
years under the governance of section 31.
State-Wise
Study On Substance Addiction Cases
On June
26th of every year the international day against substance abuse as well as in
the trafficking of substances is celebrated aiming at sensitizing individuals
around the nation regarding drug abuse and addiction followed by their negative
impacts. However, despite multiple initiatives taken by the Central Government
the epidemic of drug abuse in India among adolescents has been increasing at a
notable rate in the country and this is recognised to be the direct result of
the different cultural values and fields competition in different fields of
education as well as employment and many other factors. It is an observable
fact that the negative impact of excessive drug abuse on adolescents is not
only affecting their health and psychological well-being but at the same time
it is directly affecting the future of the country. In every state of India
there are more or less victims identified who are of adolescent group and were
victims of drug abuse, especially taking advantage of those drugs that are
easily available including tobacco, alcohol, glues and cannabis. Reports have
stated that the highest risk is identified for the group of adolescents who
belong to the group of child laborers, street children and teens with a family
history of substance abuse and any other kind of behavioural or emotional
challenge in the family. Now, saving the life and future of the children has
always been the primary concern of a nation as they are the pillars of the
future of the country. However, the increasing cases of drug abuse in India has
been putting questions everyday against the capability of the legislative body
and the government as well.
As per
the data collected by UDAYA, the substance abuse has been identified to be at a
higher rate among adolescent children aged between 15 to 19 years. The study
has also proved the use of tobacco and alcohol and it has also revealed that
approximately 20% of the address and children aged between 15 years to 19 years
in Bihar and 22% in Uttar Pradesh are consuming tobacco products. On the other
hand, in the case of alcohol consumption the percentage of users in Bihar is 8%
and 5% in UP[4].
However,
according to the report published in 2020, Uttar Pradesh continued to report
the highest cases under NDPS among all the states in India. In this case,
Mumbai has been reported among 19 metropolitan cities in the country under NDPS
for the highest number of drug abuse cases. Mumbai has reported approximately
3509 cases under the act as per "Crime in India 2020". Now analysing
these cases with the perspective of personal and commercial use it has been
identified that over 85% cases in the top 5 cities were for personal
consumption. However, on the contrary 537 cases were reported in Chennai under
the given act related to drug trafficking which is not for personal use. At the
same time 312 cases were reported in Kanpur and 72 cases were reported in
Kolkata for drug trafficking which were not related to personal consumption.
The
names of the cities identified above must raise questions against the
capability of the state government as well as the central government as these
cities are some of the developed and biggest cities in India. In the absence of
sufficient effectiveness of the NDPS act, the figures of these cases have been
increasing day by day and 2021 has again brought specific attention of not only
the country but also the foreign countries on the drug abuse cases in India
with the NCB vs. Aryan Khan case. With cases being reported everyday regarding
drug abuse in India raising a question whether the legislation related to the
same issue is really effective in India or it is not really being applied to
manage such cases.
Should
India Legalise Cannabis?
Cannabis along with its derivatives
has been banned in the country under the governance of the “Narcotic Drugs
and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985”. There are a range of preparations
that come under the generic name of cannabis. The act mentioned above strictly
regulated the production and use of cannabis plants along with its products. However,
relaxation to the harvesting of cannabis has been given by the government
exclusively for the purposes of industrial use. Focusing on this relaxation
Himachal chief minister while announcing the budget for the state 2021 the
government of Himachal Pradesh is coming up with a policy allowing controlled
contribution of cannabis within the state[5]. Since the time of
introduction of the NDPS act, cannabis has received much relaxation from the
government based on its medicinal use and its status as a less dangerous drug.
In December 2020, the UN Commission voted to remove cannabis from a category of
most dangerous drugs of the world. This decision was taken to expand the use of
cannabis marijuana for medicinal and research uses[6]. It was viewed as the
classification of cannabis along with its derivatives with the confirmation
from the World Health Organisation. In recent years, the use of marijuana for
medicinal uses has exploded and similarly the use and circulation of products
that contain cannabis derivatives like non-intoxicating compound, cannabidiol
or CBD has increased. However, despite the legalisation of the use and
harvesting of cannabis in different countries and relaxation given by the UN
Commission, some countries like China and India are still strictly controlling
the use of cannabis for the protection of people from harm and abuse. However,
from this observation it is at least can be considered that the relaxation
given to the use of cannabis from different countries prove its less harmful
nature and need for the country to promote its use widely for medical and
research purposes.
Conclusion
There
are multiple states in India that are still struggling to implement the NDPS
act for the management of substance abuse. It is not an unacceptable fact that
substance abuse has long been an enemy to the country and its development as it
is not only affecting the lives of youths, but at the same time it is putting
restrictions on the growth of the Indian economy. From the observation of the
entire analysis, it has been identified that the impact of substance abuse is
significantly high on the psychological health of youth with a possibility of
developing substance disorder that can lead towards death in serious cases.
Now, the question arises that despite such restrictions implemented by the
legislation in the country, how are the children and the youth getting access
to the drugs so easily? Is it the inability of the government or the
implementation mechanism? The answers need to be developed at the earliest to
safeguard the lives of the future of the country. Also, with the relaxation
given by the UN for the production and use of cannabis, India might need to
rethink its narcotics law structure and application.
Bibliography
Constitution of India Constitutionofindia.net,
https://www.constitutionofindia.net/constitution_of_india
Dor.gov.in, https://dor.gov.in/sites/default/files/Narcotic-Drugs-and-Psychotropic-Substances-Act-1985.pdf
Himachal Pradesh mulls
legalising cannabis cultivation: Here's why Deccan Herald, https://www.deccanherald.com/national/north-and-central/himachal-pradesh-mulls-legalising-cannabis-cultivation-heres-why-965319.html#:~:text=banned%20in%20india%3F-,Cannabis%20and%20its%20derivatives%20are%20banned%20in%20India%20under%20the,of%20the%20cannabis%20sativa%20plant
Substance abuse: Impact on
Adolescents in India – Project UDAYA | Population Council Projectudaya.in, https://www.projectudaya.in/substance-abuse-impact-on-adolescents-in-india/
UN reclassifies cannabis as a
less dangerous drug Deccan Herald, https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/un-reclassifies-cannabis-as-a-less-dangerous-drug-922580.html