Punjab drug issue getting out of hand

The Punjab government has for long promised to launch a campaign to tackle the drug problem in the state. Captain Amarinder Singh’s Congress government has taken much time to finalise its steps and proposals but they do not seem to measure up to the challenge. The government has said that it has taken strong action against police personnel who have links with drug smugglers and peddlers. There is an SIT (Special Investigation Team) for drug-related cases. There is also a Drug Abuse Prevention Officer scheme. The latest step is the plan to make dope tests mandatory for all government employees, including applicants for jobs. While the step is fine, and should be implemented properly without giving rise to complaints, its impact will only be limited.

The situation is dire, with millions of people, especially teenagers and youngsters, addicted to the use of drugs like opium and heroin. Most families in the state have drug addicts, and lakhs of them are being treated in over 150 de-addiction centres. Drugs are freely available everywhere and there is the involvement and support of the police, officials and politicians in the drug network. Thousands of peddlers are in jail but the supply chain is still working efficiently. Much of the supply comes from Pakistan and some from Himachal Pradesh. The security forces should ensure that there is no drug traffic from across the border in Pakistan. There are even charges that some border security personnel and policemen are complicit in the drug trade. The drugs that land in Punjab go to other parts of the country, too. So, this is also a national problem. National security also is involved because drug money and terror often have close links.

Community level work, education and creation of awareness among youngsters are most important. The government claims that there are 5,00,000 anti-drug agents working in the state but it is anybody’s guess how effective they are. The decline of agriculture, slow pace of development and rising unemployment among the youth are seen as creating a milieu that encourages drug use and other illegal activities. So, the problem is complex and needs to be addressed at various levels. Some suggestions are clearly wrong and ill-considered. One of them is the proposal to award capital punishment to drug peddlers. Hundreds or perhaps thousands of people may have to be sent to the gallows, without any impact on the crime. It is known that death sentence does not deter crimes. While the proposal has no chance of being accepted, it shows how serious the situation is and what drastic solutions are being thought of.