Udta Hindustan

Few in authority want to acknowledge the problem of drug abuse in India. Udta Punjab, a 2016 Bollywood film portraying drug abuse in Punjab, was initially not cleared for exhibition by the Censor Board, reportedly on instructions of the Central Government. However, once exhibited, the film succeeded in making drug peddling the central issue in the 2017 Punjab Assembly Elections.

It is quite another matter, that instead of decreasing, use of illegal drugs has increased over the years in Punjab, and has rapidly spread to other States also, especially Kerala. Controlling illicit drug supply has become even more difficult, with synthetic drugs like fentanyl (a synthetic opioid) and methamphetamine (a synthetic stimulant), and now nitazenes, replacing traditional plant-based drugs like cocaine and heroin.

Advertisement

This is because synthetic drugs can be made anywhere, at any time, requiring only chemicals, lab equipment, and basic know-how. It does not help that India lies between the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand) and the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan), two of the world’s largest heroin-producing regions. Technology is being misused on a large scale for trading in drugs, orders are taken on social media and last year, the BSF intercepted 294 drones in Punjab that were carrying drugs from Pakistan.

Drug traffickers are known to deploy narco-submarines to cross oceans, with their abominable cargo. India, which was earlier a transit point for drug shipments to the US and Europe, is increasingly becoming a significant consumer and producer of illicit drugs. Drug syndicates now eye India’s robust chemical and pharmaceutical sector for manufacturing synthetic drugs, and as a source of precursor chemicals. Busting of an illicit methamphetamine manufacturing facility in Greater Noida, belonging to the dreaded Jalisco Cartel of Mexico, points to the involvement of international drug cartels in the drug trade in India. The methamphetamine manufacturing unit was indistinguishable from nearby chemical factories, and even workers did not know what they were manufacturing. Production of such dangerous drugs in India would mean easier access, lower prices for such drugs, and add to the number of Indian drug addicts.

The presence of international cartels could pour more money and muscle into the drug trade, and encourage other criminal activity. The increasing amount of drug seizures by Indian law enforcement agencies reflects the increasing use of drugs in India; drugs worth Rs.25,330 crore were seized in 2024, an increase of over 55 per cent over 2023. The following statistics relating to drug seizures, in 2024, indicate the enormity of the problem: * A gigantic consignment of 3,132 kg of drugs valued at over Rs.2,000 crore was seized in international waters, off the coast of Gujarat.

* Security agencies seized over 700 kg of contraband methamphetamine in Gujarat from an international drug trafficking cartel.

* A drug consignment worth approximately Rs.900 crore was seized from a courier centre in Delhi.

* Agencies under MHA destroyed 1,17,284 kg of narcotics. Drug abuse silently harms individuals, breaks families, weakens communities and encourages crime; from New York to London to New Delhi, misguided youth seek solace in drugs. According to the World Drug Report, close to 58,000 drug-related deaths were reported in India in 2019 ~ approximately 17 per cent of the global total. Drug trafficking flourishes because it generates windfall profits ~ drugs are sold at a hundred to one thousand times of their cost. Drug merchants are no more like yesteryear’s drug-lords but more like modern businessmen, with sophisticated supply and distribution chains.

They communicate on the dark web, and accept payments in crypto currency. The trade in illicit drugs is remarkably well organised. According to US agencies, Chinese corporations supply chemical components of dangerous drugs like fentanyl to criminal gangs in Canada and Mexico, who manufacture fentanyl, and smuggle it into the US. Concerningly, according to National Drug Threat Assessment 2024, published by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), India was also fast emerging as a major source country for chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl. The power of drug lords can be understood from the fact that despite the publicly stated resolve of US President Donald Trump to end drug trafficking, Mexican criminal gangs, known as the Sinaloa Cartel, and CJNG or the Jalisco Cartel, have penetrated deep into the US; supplying drugs even to isolated communities.

To support drug trafficking, these cartels indulge in a host of other criminal activities like arms trafficking, money laundering, migrant smuggling, sex trafficking, bribery, extortion etc. Deployment of US warships off the coast of Venezuela, after the US Hellfire missiles did not deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, shows the enormity of the drug problem. Directly or indirectly, many Governments support the drug trade: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom Trump calls a ‘narco-terrorist,’ appears to be linked with drug traffickers. Traditionally, use of drugs like charas and ganja was legal in India. In the 1960s and 1970s, young persons from the West came to India to achieve enlightenment – through drugs.

However, to fulfil its international obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, Parliament passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 1985 that prohibited the production/manufacturing/cultivation, possession, sale, purchase, transport, storage, and/or consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance ~ with hefty prison terms for violators. While Western countries that motivated India to pass the draconian NDPS, have slowly relaxed drug control, we persist with total prohibition, even alcohol being taboo in many States. This approach has spawned a huge market for illicit drugs and contraband alcohol; new gangs have come up for drug and alcohol manufacture and supply, and related allied criminal activity.

Before India becomes a significant player in the international drug trade, the time may have come to revisit our drug policies. Till now, official response to the increasing drug menace has been one of looking the other way, or bluster. Thrice, in 2014, 2023 and 2024, PM Modi has talked about drug addiction in his Mann ki Baat programme; at a conference in September 2025, Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated his Government’s resolve to root out drug addiction. Going a step further, on 1 March 2025, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had vowed to make Punjab drug-free in the next three months. This was after his predecessor, Amarinder Singh, at the time of taking office in 2017, had promised to eradicate the State’s drug problem in four weeks. Sadly, none of these bombastic statements were accompanied by action on the ground; vested interests ensured that the drive against illegal drugs petered out as soon as it began.

Globally, the war against drugs has entered a decisive phase. Most countries in Europe and North America have legalised less harmful drugs like cannabis, which is also legal in twenty-four US States. Two approaches have been tried: the Portugal approach, which saw decriminalisation of personal use and possession of all drugs since 2001, shifting the emphasis from criminal prosecution to a public health issue, by giving addicts access to specialised medical services, and de-addiction programmes. This approach succeeded in reducing drug-related deaths by more than 70 per cent. Also, new HIV infections among drug users fell significantly. This approach was followed by Canada and Switzerland, with similar results. The second approach is that of Japan, which is based on strict enforcement and community involvement.

The only way to reduce the death, violence and corruption caused by the illegal drug trade in our country may be to legalise and regulate the production and consumption of milder drugs. This would eliminate the price premium that draws the world’s most violent criminals to drugs trafficking. Drug users could then be sure of dosage and quality, making them shun much more dangerous illegal concoctions. Simultaneously, de-addiction programmes and public-health campaigns could lower drug deaths and harm, and cut demand. The drug trade flourishes because drug users become helpless slaves to their addiction; as Salvador Dali had said: “I don’t do drugs. I am drug

(The writer is a retired Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax)