Policy on decriminalisation of drug use on the cards in Punjab

CHANDIGARH, June 21

Taking forward the commitment of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to treat every drug addict like a patient and deal with them sympathetically, the government is mulling to bring a policy for decriminalisation of the drug use, said Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh here today.

“Decriminalisation doesn’t mean that drugs will get legalised, it will continue to remain illegal. Under this policy, drug addicts or patients of substance use disorders caught with meagre amount of drugs will be sent to de-addiction centres for treatment and rehabilitation instead of putting them into the jails,” he said, while maintaining that drug smugglers/peddlers would be dealt by the police with iron hand.

Dr Balbir Singh further said the problem of drug abuse had affected a large number of population and created a barrier in the progress of the state. “Our government is committed to making Punjab a ‘Rangla Punjab’ as desired by Bhagwant Mann,” he said.

He said the government had been working on formulation and implementation of a policy under which a multi-pronged and multi-disciplinary approach would be adopted to tackle the situation on utmost priority.

“We are planning to rope in all departments, including Social Security, Youth Affairs and Education, to work in tandem with the Health Department to fight the drug menace,” he said, while adding that they would also involve the Employment Generation and Skill Development Department which will help the rehabilitated patients to inculcate skills and provide jobs to help and bring them back to the mainstream life.

Dr Balbir instructed health officials to use the services of psychiatrists in jails.

Minister for Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, Social Security, Women and Child Development Dr Baljit Kaur presided over the meeting. Prominent speakers, including professor Dr Atul Ambekar from AIIMS, Delhi, and professor and Head of Department of Psychiatry in the PGI, Dr Debashish Basu, participated.

No jail for patients

Decriminalisation doesn’t mean that drugs will get legalised. Under this policy, drug addicts or patients of substance use disorders caught with small amount of drugs will be sent to de-addiction centres for treatment and rehabilitation. Dr Balbir Singh, Health and Family Welfare Minister