It’s time Punjab came out with a drug policy

HMS Rosha

JI excise & taxation commissioner (retd)

The ongoing debate on legalising soft drugs like poppy and cannabis has been long overdue and is welcome. It needs to spread beyond political rhetoric into inclusive participation by the intelligentsia. One hopes that it is vigorously discussed by schoolteachers, college professors, historians, social workers et al, and is debated in schools, colleges and universities by students and youth, who are the main stakeholders in this issue.

The proposition has more pros than cons. But first let's try to clear the air on the existing drug policy in India. The law which regulates the production and consumption of drugs in India is the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the rules made thereunder. The two main soft drugs are poppy and cannabis. From the first is obtained opium which, if treated with chemicals, produces semi-synthetic drugs like heroin, morphine, codein etc. Further refinement produces synthetic drugs like diazepam, mandrax etc. Cannabis yields bhang, ganja, charas or hashish which can also be refined into synthetic drugs.

The Punjab Government is seeking a central policy on drugs. Well, it already exists in both these cases. In the case of poppy, the NDPS Act empowers the Central Government to permit and regulate the cultivation of opium poppy for medical and scientific purposes. Some tracts of agricultural land in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are notified under Rule 8 of the NDPS rules where poppy cultivation is permitted. The licences are issued to farmers by the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), Gwalior. Other safeguards like measuring each notified field, prescribing the minimum yield and rates etc are also prescribed. The policy doesn't limit the licensing to these states alone. Punjab can also submit a proposal to the Centre for including it in the notified tracts under the NDPS rules.

This proposal can point out that the methods of production being adopted in the notified tracts are archaic and that Punjab intends to adopt state-of-the-art agricultural technologies such as aquaculture and aquaponics which give exceptionally high yields. Moreover, since it is proposed to be grown in a controlled environment under tight state-of-the-art security, it will preempt leakages of all kinds which cannot be ruled out under the existing policy.

In the case of cannabis, the Central Government allows all states to regulate the use of leaves and seeds of the cannabis plant. It only bans the production and sale of the resin and flowers. It is under this provision that Punjab allows the cultivation of cannabis in Hoshiarpur in notified fields. 

The NDPS Act defines cannabis as the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops) from which the resin has not been extracted. Hence the cultivation and harvesting of leaves and seeds of the plant and its cultivation for industrial purposes such as making industrial hemp or for horticultural use remain legal in India.

It is under this policy that various states have formulated their own laws banning or restricting its use. Interestingly, in 2017, even Gujarat, a dry state, legalised bhang by removing it from the list of intoxicating drugs, recognising it as the "Prasad of Shiva".

It is, therefore, time that Punjab considers the option of legalising softer drugs like poppy and cannabis with an unbiased mind. These are no longer bad words in the political arena. Legalising softer drugs has been discussed in Parliament also. In 2015, Lok Sabha MP Tathagata Satpathy supported the legalisation of cannabis, and bravely admitted to having consumed the drug on several occasions when he was in college. Similarly, the MP from Patiala, Dharamvir Gandhi is campaigning vigorously for legalising non-synthetic intoxicants. Union Minister Maneka Gandhi suggested the legalisation of medical marijuana on the grounds that it would reduce drug abuse and aid cancer patients. The Union Government is encouraging research on cannabis. 

Not only in India, but all over the world, softer drugs are increasingly been seen as better and healthier alternatives to hard and synthetic drugs. The USA, Canada and many European countries have already legalised the sale and consumption of cannabis or marijuana as it is widely known in those parts. This liberalisation has spawned a great demand for cannabis in all its forms for consumption, either as an entertainment drug or as raw material for the pharma industry.

One hopes that Punjab will seize this moment while the idea is still sinking in in other parts of the country. The winds of change have begun. We cannot change its direction. So let us adjust our sails to be amongst the first to profit by it. Instead of waiting for a policy to be declared by the Centre, let Punjab be the one to come out with a policy of its own, at least in areas that are under the state's purview. 

This is a great opportunity not only to wean away the youth from hard drugs, but also to garner revenue for the fund-starved state. The unemployed youth and the poorer sections, not being able to afford the very high prices of liquor, are easily attracted to the cheaper option of synthetic drugs. Legalising the consumption of cheaper, softer and healthier intoxicants like bhang and opium will surely wean many an addict away from synthetic drugs. 

At present, Punjab allows the cultivation of cannabis, albeit in a limited fashion, in Hoshiarpur. This activity is conducted with negligible supervision or regulation. If its commercial production is allowed under a licence, with stricter norms and efficacious supervision, and by adopting latest technologies in agriculture which ensure high yield and good quality, it will be an activity highly productive of revenue. Because of its great demand in the western world, it can find lucrative markets for export. Revenue will accrue in the form of licence fee and duty. The greatest benefit will accrue in case of exports because the state will earn revenue in the form of licence fee without taxing its own citizens!