21.36 lakh people are consuming opioids, others are on cannabis, sedatives, inhalants, cocaine, and stimulants.
Published Aug 06, 2023 | 7:16 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 06, 2023 | 7:16 AM
Drug abuse. Representational Image. (Creative Commons)
Punjab, which has a population of about three crore, has 66 lakh drug users. This startling revelation was made in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment’s report, which was tabled in the ongoing session of the Lok Sabha.
Titled “Drug abuse among young persons: Problems and solutions”, the report highlights that 21.36 lakh people are consuming different types of opioids, 30.68 lakh are regular cannabis users, 9.93 lakh are on sedatives, 1.87 on inhalants, 1.5 lakh on cocaine, and 1.36 on stimulants.
What, however, is more worrying, is the drug-use patterns reported in children and teens aged between 10 and 17 years.
According to the report, as many as 6.97 lakh children are hooked on to drugs in Punjab.
Of these, 18,100 children are consuming cocaine. Around 3.43 lakh children are taking opioid drugs, including heroin. The report further revealed that 72,000 children in Punjab are taking inhalants, 1.43 lakh are on cannabis, and 93,000 are on sedatives.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has, since day one, cited drug menace in Punjab as its biggest challenge, owing to unprecedented cross-border narco-terrorism through drones. Even Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has time and again expressed concern over the easy availability of drugs, even to school children.
“There are 2.62 lakh addicts in government-run centres and 6.12 lakh addicts in privately-run centres. Sadly, the cure rate of addicts is negligible — 1.5 percent in the case of government run de-addiction centres and 0.04 percent in privately-run centres,” said Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh.
He added, “Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has categorically said that those addicted to drugs should not be sent to jail, but given treatment. We are planning to set mohalla- and village-level committees to bring the addicts back into the mainstream.”
According to state records, Punjab police — from 5 July, 2022, to 7 July, 2023 — registered 12,218 FIRs under the Narcotic-Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 (NDPS Act). Punjab is third in terms of NDPS cases registered, with Uttar Pradesh taking the lead, followed by Maharashtra in second place.
The Parliamentary Committee expressed shock over the fact that the menace of drug addiction has been spreading fast among adults, young adults, and even children in India.
The committee was pained to see that opioids, sedatives, and inhalants were widely prevalent among children aged 10-17 years.
It was Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal that were the worst-affected states and UTs.
The situation among adults aged 18-75 years was equally bad in these states.
