|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
India: Crime and punishment
Joginder Singh The Pioneer
Monday 19 Jun 2006 The recent involvement of a high profile deceased politician's son in a case of drug abuse has focussed attention on the problem and sale of narcotics in the country. The criminalisation of drug use and trade is covered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. From the law enforcement agencies' point of view, crime involving narcotics forms a small portion - 0.7 per cent - of the total cognisable IPC crime in the country. In spite of a punitive and rehabilitative approach, the issue of drug demand and control still remains elusive. For long India was producing opium to satisfy the medicinal requirement of the world. It was only in 1985 that the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act was passed. Both cannabis and opium have been traditionally consumed for social and cultural purposes in many parts of the country. The religious use of cannabis continues to exist especially among followers of Lord Shiva. bhang (a drink made with tender leaves of cannabis) is used by common people to celebrate Shivaratri and Holi. But the Shaivite sadhus (religious priests who live ascetic, celibate lives, often in isolation) consume hashish and or marijuana. This is to help them concentrate and meditate under harsh climatic conditions. Some sadhus consume cannabis products daily in large quantity. For them, offering a pipe of cannabis is similar to offering a cup of tea or coffee to visitors. Though such religious use has existed for centuries, there has been no provisions made other than to state that the use of bhang is legal, and yet cannabis leaves - the source for making bhang - is illegal. There are no measures for legally cultivating cannabis and collecting tender leaves. In States like Rajasthan and Gujarat, the use of opium drink was a part of culture, where guests are greeted with few drops of this drink. Prior to the amendment of the NDPS Act in 2002, one could be arrested for trading drugs if one was held in possession of 250mg or quarter of a gram. In the drug trade, a loose network of disposable actors have always ensured that not even a dent is caused to those in this field. Today it is considered more a social evil than a crime. Therefore, not many are willing to furnish information about it though there are general rumours and media reports about its use in big parties. Drug consumption was carried out openly, legitimised by cultural norms and restricted by traditional demand. It was also free of underground dealings. Instead of reducing drug supply, the imposition of laws has resulted in the replacement of culturally sanctioned use by traditional suppliers with criminal networks. The natural psycho-active plants commonly found in India include cannabis, poppy, khat and dhatura. Cannabis and opium are part of the cultural and religious elements in the country, which was used and kept under control for thousands of years. The international community, however, views these two drugs as particularly troublesome. Lessons learnt during the last two decades indicate that targeting traffickers and traders has fewer negative effects. It does not require providing alternative means of livelihoods, to those who are affected by strict enforcement of laws and illegal trade in narcotics. So much so, nobody shall launch an andolan or an agitation of Narmada Bacho andolan-kind for them. The illicit drug trade is a low-risk but a high profit activity. In order to eliminate it, the situation needs to be reversed: The illicit drug trade must be made a high-risk activity. The present drug control strategy of India can be traced back to the Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs of 1961. The NDPS Act is designed to conform to the Single Convention of 1961, which the Indian Government had signed in 1964. India was committed to the international goal of eradicating all cultural uses of cannabis within a 25-year period - till 1989. India is one of the world's top producers of licit opium, and is the sole producer of opium gum. To meet India's share of anticipated world demand for licit opium in 2000 and rebuild domestic stockpiles toward an International Narcotics Control Board, the recommended level was about 750 metric tons. The Government set a harvest target of 1,200 metric tons, of which 870 metric tons was meant for export, 130 metric tons for domestic use and 200 metric tons for buffer stocks. To meet this goal, the Government continued to license a historically larger number of farmers and an increased area for poppy cultivation. However, in 2001, the total licensed area has been reduced from 35,271 hectares to 25,375 hectares in 2001. Those cultivators who had failed to achieve qualifying yields at least 45 kilograms per hectare in States like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were de-licensed. On the other hand, criminal elements produce heroin from both diverted legal opium and illegally grown opium, no reliable data are available on the extent of production. Nevertheless, the NCB sources are of the opinion that farmers often hide the exact quantity of their yield and sell off some in the black market. The Government periodically raises the official price paid to farmers to increase incentives to licit cultivators. This graduated scale of payment to licensed farmers is designed to encourage greater productivity and prevent diversion to the black market, where opium can fetch prices as much as 25 times higher than the base price of Rs 630 per kilogram. For one kilogram the Government pays a farmer Rs 250, which is not only meagre but also a fraction of the drug's value on the black market. In 2001, there was a decrease in the floor purchase price of opium from Rs 280 to Rs 270 per kilo. This led to induce the farmers to divert sales to drug traffickers instead, who paid a much higher price. Preventing substance abuse, or coping with it when it happens, are matters of concern for society and Government. Drug prevention is a shared responsibility. The reasons for drug use are varied. The world is filled with opportunities to use drugs. It is for parents, teachers and society to prepare the youth to make positive choices. High self-esteem will enable them to resist peer pressure to use drugs, but not always. The Government should accept that the law enforcement hypothesis would never work alone. It should also focus on treating drug abuse as a health problem with social and economic implications. http://www.dailypioneer.com/ http://www.ccguide.org.uk/
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!