ISSUE OF DRUG ABUSE IN PUNJAB

Running head: ISSUE OF DRUG ABUSE IN PUNJAB
Issue of drug abuse in Punjab
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ISSUE OF DRUG ABUSE IN PUNJAB
Drug abuse has been identified as a Global crisis phenomenon by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) and its impact is varying from one country to the other (Abuse,
Substance, and Mental Health Services Administration). Among the various Asian countries,
India seems to be too much caught in this vicious circle of drug abuse while Punjab, the land
of five rivers seems to be the most affected region of the nation. Surviving the militant
attacks in 1980, the next big battle that this state has been confronting since then is its large
spread drug trafficking and drug consumption activities (Kaur).
Various social activists and government officials have periodically intervened and
investigated to find out the root cause of this widespread abuse and the answer has been its
vulnerable geographical location. Punjab shares its border with Pakistan which naturally
makes it the transit point from where the drugs are finally smuggled in India. This has rather
become a lucrative business option for the youth who not only act as “Carriers” by smuggling
drugs but often fall prey to its consumption and become drug addicts (Singh, et al.). The
heads of these drug dealers are basically present in Pakistan and communicate with the locals
through mobile SIM- cards issued in Pakistan which the Indian police cannot track. Once the
drugs reach Punjab then it is supplied to other parts of the country like Delhi, Pune and
Bangalore. This is exactly how the racket has been operating since years. The Border
Security Force (BSF) official R K Arora regarded that Afghanistan is recognised as the
world’s largest producer of heroin, however the price in their home market is very less, hence
these drugs are then smuggled to India through the Indo-Pak border. Once these drugs enter
India, their price shoot up by 10 to 15%, which are finally sold to international markets at sky
high profits (Chand, Gurnam.).
Amidst this trafficking problem, the high rate of drug consumption by the residents of
this state has altogether created another new crisis for the community. While some consider it
as a chain reaction of the widespread unemployment amongst the state youths a video which

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ISSUE OF DRUG ABUSE IN PUNJAB
went viral in June 2018 proved that the reason behind this substance abuse is not that simple
and defined. A video was leaked from Punjab where a newlywed woman with all her
weeding bangles was seen lighting candle below a foil and smartly snorting the substance
known as Chitta, the synthetic drug made in Punjab from heroin and other such toxic
substance (Kaur, et al.). Therefore it is more than just the problems of unemployment; rather
it is deep rooted in the culture and lifestyle of the residents. The poor and unemployed are
exposed to Iodex and petrol to satiate their drug addiction while the riche section has
unlimited access to expensive drugs like Poppy husk, cocaine and heroine.
It would be absolute injustice to say that the government officials of the state has not
been active in combating this crisis, especially in presence of MP’s like Ravneet Singh who
did start a 45 days continuing anti-drug march in the state to help the youths, the people
exposed to this substance abuse understand how toxic and destructive is its impact and how
so many lives are lost due to sheer ignorance. The government officials have also aided in
establishing more than 88 De- Addiction Centres by now, however out of which only 23 are
official (Gupta,et al.). A recent study conducted by UN suggests that more than 860,000
young men in the state, aged between 15-35 years take some or the other form of drug.
According to the Narcotics Control Bureau’s reports there is a specific village name
Maqboolpura near Amritsar which is known as the “village of windows”, and the soul reason
for attributing such an agonising name to this place is that basically every single household
here has lost a member in the lieu of drug abuse (Patnaik, Soumendra Mohan, and Loveena
Sehra). This is exactly how horrible the situation is in Punjab. The problem is so widespread
that addressing one issue brings along a tail of other significant issues which are somewhere
interconnected.
The police force, the government and the border force generals are constantly
launching special campaigns against theses drug dealers and suppliers .Till now more than