The current war on drugs began immediately after the Chief Minister’s meeting with Deputy Commissioners and senior police officers on February 28. Such special efforts were first initiated after the poor performance of the ruling party in the province after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. During the 2017 assembly elections, the likely winning party chief promised from the stage of a packed rally in Malwa, “I swear by Gutka Sahib that I will eliminate drugs from Punjab in four weeks.” During the 2023 Independence Day celebrations in Patiala, the current Chief Minister had pledged to control drugs within a year.
Despite such huge efforts, the drug situation in the province appears to be the same even after 10-11 years. Despite the increase in the relevance and seriousness of the efforts against drug control, drug use has not been curbed.
The types of drugs have diversified and the routes of drug supply have changed; But the scourge of drugs continues to plague the youth. Deaths due to overdose are a clear indication of the unfettered supply of drugs.
Such deaths, like the epicenter of an earthquake, identify the place where the effect of drugs is most profound. In fact, there is no fixed amount of chemical concentration in drugs like heroin and white, as in medicines, there is a fixed amount of chemicals of 5 or 10 milligrams. The use of drugs in sudden high doses proves to be fatal. Many youths who have returned from abroad have also been seen dying due to overdose while using such drugs.
The figures of deaths due to drugs are also lower than the reality. Often parents want to hide this tragedy. A person who is struggling to quit drugs suddenly dies due to drug overdose, unable to bear the consequences of drugs, such deaths are excluded from overdose deaths. Sometimes the system also falls silent |
Stopping the supply, getting the addict treated and creating awareness against drugs are the basic solutions to drug control. These conditions have been the status quo in the province for a long time. Why has stopping the supply line become so complicated and intricate, this is an important question for drug control. Despite the large-scale recovery of drugs, the flow of drugs continues unabated.
This is the case of Jalandhar city in April 2022. As the day went on, incidents of snatching mobile phones, chains and purses started and continued till late at night. This was a matter of serious concern for us. In the early hours of one day, 15-20 serious drug addicts were rounded up from the city. Five, seven cases of drugs were registered against each of them. Mobile phones and empty purses were found in the houses of many. All their bodies were stained with injections. Three of them had their body parts pierced with needles from their arms to their ankles. From that day on, there were no incidents of snatching for a week. Slowly, the graph of these incidents started increasing again. In fact, drug addicts do not let the supply line of drugs break.
Behind the scenes, there are many other reasons that are major obstacles to the prevention of drugs. The ever-increasing gap between the rich and the poor and the continuation of the drug trade by some sections of the society as a lucrative business are the invisible and major reasons for the prevention of drugs. Excessive consumption of alcohol and huge expenses on weddings create a backdrop for drugs on the canvas of Punjab.
This is about 10 years ago. A young man was found addicted to Smack. He also had a Pudi in his pocket. The relatives and parents agreed that we can get him treated. After the treatment, he was made a driver for a person’s car. I told him, “If you ever feel like doing drugs, talk to me on the phone first.” One winter night, his phone rang. I asked, “Do you feel like doing drugs?” “No,” he replied. He said, “One thought doesn’t let me sleep. My boss went to have dinner with a friend. While getting up, he forgot the bill on the front seat. My monthly salary is 5500 rupees, while the bill for a meal for those two is 6500 rupees.” Such a big difference does not allow the youth to feel like working. In many villages, house by house, all the members of the family have got involved in the business of selling drugs. They have also made their children a part of this black business. A woman from a village near Ludhiana was arrested (2008) for drug smuggling. During interrogation, she told that there are seven adult members of her family including her, four of whom were in jail due to drug cases at that time.
This is an incident from Faridkot district in the year 2012. A person was arrested for drug trafficking. When the police searched for him, it was found that he was a resident of a village near Jalalabad in Fazilka district. When a case was registered against him for drug trafficking, he changed his location. This was his fifth location in the last 20 years. At that time, both his sons were also in jail under drug cases.
It is about fifteen years ago. A young man studying in a college forty kilometers away from his home became addicted to drugs. He left college in the middle of his studies and continued to smoke heroin with the money for college fees and tuition. The secret came to light only after a year when a letter came from the college principal. In his panic, his mother made a fatal mistake. As soon as she read the letter, she dialed her son’s phone number. Then he was in the bus station of his own city.
He was getting off at the school. Then he read the letter from the principal to his son. The only thing he said outside the letter was that as soon as he read the letter, your father had gone to your college. That moment and that day, the young man never returned home. Even after three years, that woman definitely goes to the college once and a half times a month to find her son. She sits in the college canteen for a while. She starts watching the classes in the study rooms through the glasses. When it is time for recess, she tries to inquire about her son from some students. While returning, she stands at the main gate of the college, folds her hands and bows her head. Does anyone pray or make a request, no one knows anything about her words.
‘I went to the perfect devotees,
Take care of my time today.’
A woman was buying drug paraphernalia. It seemed very strange from his appearance. When he was questioned about this, tears flowed from his eyes like tears, “My son is addicted to drugs. We do not let him go outside. I bring him drugs every third-fourth day.” At what stage of life have mothers who repeatedly drink water from their sons’ heads reached?
• Campaigns play a special role in victories. Such collective and large-scale efforts against drugs are commendable. But multifaceted and continuous efforts are needed to fight drugs. The formation of five cabinet ministers to oversee this campaign is a commendable step. This will make the employees and officers working in the field realize its importance. It will be a special effort to evaluate these efforts during the meeting of all the Deputy Commissioners and Police Chiefs at the provincial level on the last day of every month for the prevention of drugs.
• Commitment and responsibility of the administrative and political sector for the prevention of drugs is the need of the hour.
• Breaking the supply line is an important aspect of this struggle. This is the center of the problem. Therefore, the police department is short of manpower. Investigation is complicated and time-consuming. This problem requires necessary resources.
• Just as special efforts are being made under this campaign to break the supply line, special efforts are also needed to de-addiction. The number of de-addiction experts and counselors is very less compared to the problem. It is necessary to investigate private de-addiction centers. The health department needs to play an important role.
A period on drugs in schools should be about awareness against drugs, morality and other social evils.
• The campaign against drugs has to be accepted one day only with the cooperation of the people. In this regard, there is a need to rebuild the anti-drug committees. For this purpose, full participation, guidance and support from the social security and rural development departments are essential.
This is an incident from Ferozepur district in the year 2014. Encouraged by the ongoing campaign against drugs, an old mother gave information against her drug-addicted son-in-law. Her granddaughters were standing on the threshold of adulthood, but her son-in-law had sold a large part of his property to fulfill his drug needs. Now he was preparing to sell two fields together. The old mother kept a complete watch on the court rounds. She took both her granddaughters with her and filed an application with the Deputy Commissioner’s office that their father could not sell the property of the girls. All three of them came to my office with a copy of this application. By gesturing, she sent both the girls out of the office and started giving information about drugs. She explained the situation in full detail in a low voice, including the time of the drug buyers, where the pudis are kept and how and where the money is taken care of. The raid was carried out the next morning itself. The drug smuggler went to jail and sat with the old mother and started getting treatment for her drug addict son-in-law.
Such efforts are needed at the family and social level. Keeping in mind the unbearable pain of Punjab, we should also bear the prick of thorns to prevent drugs.
