Drug Menace in India

Context

1. India has prepared a three-year roadmap to achieve a drug-free India by 2029.

1. The strategy is based on four pillars: enforcement and intelligence-led operations; capacity building and cooperation; demand and harm reduction; and control of synthetic drugs.

Factors Behind the Drug Menace

1. Geographical location: India lies between two major drug-producing regions. The Golden Crescent comprises Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, while the Golden Triangle comprises Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.
2. Drugs reach India through land borders, as well as the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. The country is also used as a transit route for sending drugs to Europe and other Western countries through sea routes.
3. Myanmar is described in the source as the second-largest supplier of illicit heroin globally and a major source of morphine. It accounts for nearly 80% of global illicit heroin production.
4. Organised crime and terrorism strengthen trafficking networks. Proceeds from drug trafficking can be used to support terrorist activities.
5. Technology-enabled trafficking is emerging rapidly. Drones can be used to deliver drugs across border areas, while cryptocurrency makes financial transactions difficult to trace. The dark web further complicates the identification of trafficking networks.
6. Illiteracy, unemployment and poverty can increase vulnerability to drug networks and create conditions for recruitment into trafficking.
7. The rise of synthetic drugs, produced through chemical substances, has added a new challenge for law-enforcement agencies.

Measures Taken to Control Drug Trafficking

1. Legal Framework

• The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 regulates the quality, safety and effectiveness of drugs available in India.
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 regulates the production, manufacture, cultivation, possession, sale, storage, transport and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• The Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 seeks to prevent illicit activities involving such substances.

2. Institutional and Social Measures

• The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is responsible for enforcing the NDPS Act.
• India has strengthened border security to prevent the use of land routes for drug trafficking.
• The National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (2018–2025) focused on reducing demand for drugs.
• Under the Scheme for Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, financial assistance was provided to NGOs running rehabilitation centres.
• The Nasha Mukt Bharat Campaign has been used to create awareness about drug abuse.

International Framework

India’s drug-control efforts are supported by three major international conventions:

1. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961: Provides for control of narcotic drugs while allowing their use for medical and scientific purposes.
2. Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971: Regulates psychotropic substances according to their abuse potential.
3. UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988: Covers illicit trafficking, money laundering and diversion of precursor chemicals.

Major Challenges

1. Dark-web platforms and cryptocurrency make trafficking networks and financial transactions harder to track.
2. Awareness about the health risks of drug abuse remains inadequate.
3. Stigma prevents many affected persons from seeking treatment and rehabilitation.
4. A shortage of rehabilitation facilities limits access to recovery services.
5. Limited research on changing patterns of drug use makes it difficult to design effective, evidence-based responses.
6. Existing drug-control regulations may not fully address new trafficking methods.
7. Law-enforcement agencies need updated training and stronger capacity to deal with technology-driven trafficking.

Way Forward

1. Improve coordination among agencies such as the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
2. Strengthen intelligence-led enforcement to identify and dismantle drug syndicates and their links with organised crime.
3. Improve monitoring of drones, cryptocurrency and dark-web networks used in trafficking.
4. Give greater importance to de-addiction, rehabilitation and harm reduction along with enforcement.
5. Expand public awareness through community campaigns, street plays and role models.
6. Create more employment opportunities and channel the energy of the youth towards productive activities.

Drug Menace in India FAQs

Q1. What are the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle?
Ans: The Golden Crescent comprises Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. The Golden Triangle comprises Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. Their proximity to India increases the country’s exposure to illicit drug trafficking.

Q2. What is the difference between supply reduction and demand reduction?
Ans: Supply reduction focuses on stopping the production, trafficking and distribution of drugs. Demand reduction aims to reduce consumption through measures such as awareness, treatment and rehabilitation.

Q3. Why are precursor chemicals important in drug control?
Ans: Precursor chemicals can be diverted for the production of psychotropic substances. Preventing such diversion is therefore an important part of international drug-control efforts.

Q4. Why is the drug menace an internal-security concern?
Ans: Drug trafficking can be linked with organised crime and terrorism. Illicit proceeds may support criminal and terrorist networks.

Q5. Why are synthetic drugs particularly challenging?
Ans: Synthetic drugs involve the use of chemical substances in their production. Their control therefore requires attention to both the finished drugs and the chemicals used to produce them.

Q6. Why is rehabilitation important in drug-control policy?
Ans: Enforcement alone cannot address substance dependence. De-addiction and rehabilitation are necessary to help affected persons recover and reduce the wider social impact of drug abuse.

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