Drugs and death

Growing public anger over the government’s failure to curb the supply of illegal drugs seems to have triggered a reaction in the political class. “Death to the dealers” is the new mantra and the government of Punjab is even canvassing the Centre to amend the NDPS Act so that drug dealers are given the death sentence in the first instance of their conviction, not in the second as the law stands now. The move is ill-advised. The deterrent effect of the death penalty has seldom found support on empirical grounds and has garnered much criticism on ethical grounds. It has been abolished in most of the world and is reserved for the rarest of the rare crimes elsewhere.

The crucial question of why the youth are taking to drugs in such large numbers has been ignored. An education system that is churning out barely literate graduates, massive unemployment and unemployability among the young men and women, and lack of hope in the future contribute to creating an atmosphere where a quick release from reality seems an attractive proposition. Indeed, some attention needs to be paid to improving the education and the employability prospects of the youth.

Drug mafia exists as a joint venture of the dealers, their political and administrative patrons. The harsh spotlight of public scrutiny has exposed a lot of police personnel and their involvement in the illegal trade. The stain is widespread and political patronage is often talked about. Yet, an overwhelming majority of those arrested under the NDPS Act are addicts and peddlers caught with small quantities of drugs. They are cannon fodder for the drug kingpins. The police made sensational announcements after the arrest of some of the more important criminals, but follow-up has been slow and retractions many. Indeed, if the government is serious about tackling drugs in the state, it should take meaningful steps in identifying the real causes of such addiction as well as in curbing the major gangs that operate in the state with a degree of impunity which points to high-level patronage.