Himachal tightens drug law

DESPITE words of caution from legislators, both from the Opposition and ruling parties, the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Friday went ahead with a rather rigorous amendment to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act that allows bail to those apprehended with small quantities of narcotics, primarily on the assumption that they are addicts who need assistance and not imprisonment. Fending off concerns regarding the misuse of the law, CM Jai Ram Thakur contended that a strong message needed to go out to the peddlers. Consequent of this Bill, possession of even pitiable amounts of contraband will fall into the non-bailable category.

Unregulated drug supply has emerged as a global scourge, inducing countries to sign high-priority pacts. The 1988 UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances divides the countries into three groups: organic and manufacturing states and neutral groups. With a tradition of socio-cultural drug use for ages, India is part of the organic states. It has, therefore, supported ‘weak’ controls since restrictions hit its domestic industry and infringe age-old practices of their use. Most of the Western world form the manufacturing states with no civilisational history of organic drug use. Since India is battling chemical drug trafficking in states like Punjab, where youth is as high as the kite, an unambiguous drug policy is critical.

But bracketing negligible quantities of organic drugs like cannabis with the more potent synthetic ones may take away from the drive. The easy planting of such drugs is a real peril, which will bring in expendable litigation, rendering the dilution of the campaign. Hence, it is imperative to differentiate between harmful habit-forming drugs and soft drugs, especially when the West is relaxing the consumption of organic drugs. Himachal has limited powers to amend the Act. The initiative is undoubtedly audacious, but may defeat the objective as well as go against global trends. Rather than introduce a wholly new, controversial angle, Himachal must come up with a strategy that helps its agro sector and clamps down on chemical drug use.