If re-elected, will open poppy husk vends, says Gandhi

Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 23

Incumbent Patiala MP and Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) nominee Dr Dharamvira Gandhi for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from this constituency today declared to open poppy husk and opium vends, if he wins the election.

Gandhi advocated the legalisation of cultivation of traditional drugs in the state.

While addressing drivers of Guru Teg Bahadur Truck Union, Gandhi said like other states in India, Punjab should also lift the ban on poppy cultivation.

He said the time has come to grow less harmful natural intoxicants, including poppy and marijuana. Gandhi was of the view that allowing the said drugs to be cultivated across the country would also put an end to an inter-state smuggling of drugs.

The Patiala MP has been demanding since long to amendment the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, in order to legalise poppy cultivation in Punjab.

Moreover, Gandhi had also moved a Private Member’s Bill in the Parliament two years ago, for legalising cultivation of traditional drugs. He said, “If I am re-elected, I will try my best to get the Bill passed in the Parliament.”