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India: An AAP MP's quest towards legalization of cannabis in India Varun Marwah Bar and Bench Tuesday 01 Nov 2016 In a country like India, which still struggles with enforcement of fundamental rights, Dr. Dharamvir Gandhi, a Member of Parliament from the Aam Aadmi Party has introduced the NDPS (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (Bill) which has been cleared by the legislative branch of the Parliament i.e. the contents of the Bill have been vetted to ensure its constitutional and legal validity for being placed before the Parliament. This Bill, however, is a private member’s bill, a class of legislations with a discouraging legislative precedent. As reported by PRS, only fourteen private members bill have been passed ever since Independence. The last private member’s bill voted into law was in 2014, after 45 years, when Parliament passed the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014. So what does the Bill attempt to do? Recourse may be found in the Statement of Objects and Reasons that reads, “The War on Drugs has caused the creation of the dangerous drug mafia, scores of human rights violations and destroyed innumerable lives. As the common man’s recreational substances were unavailable, newer, more potent, addictive and dangerous drugs began being created.” It further highlights the failure of the NDPS Act to persecute the traffickers, “The number of users arrested contributes to 88% of those jailed under NDPS. Traffickers and distributors are 2%. No financers have been arrested. The drug mafia remains at large, increasing the scale of its operations. Drug money is being used to fund wars and terrorism, creating narco-terrorism.” Legalization of cannabis, whether for recreational purposes or not, is slowly becoming a popular movement in several countries; in the United States roughly 25 states have legalised consumption in some form or the other. Further west, Portugal has ‘decriminalized’ possession of ‘all’ drugs. It’s been sixteen years since Portugal has done so, and the benefits are tangible. Portugal’s success story is one, which proves that when the social stigma attached to something is uprooted, helping those affected by it becomes an easier task. And this forms the very basis of the Bill. Dr. Gandhi adds, “A good 80% of the people languishing in jail are petty drug users, and not criminals. They are patients, and they belong not inside the jail but in hospitals.” Treating drug abuse and addiction as health issues, instead of a crime against society is the basic motive behind the Bill. Drugs such as opium, which have been used since time immemorial, are far less addictive and lethal, as compared to their synthetic counterparts. “The only way to achieve complete de-addiction is by guarded and controlled opening of these traditional substances used by people over centuries which are less lethal and addictive, and control supply in a guarded fashion”, says Gandhi. How the Bill works The Bill primarily seeks to distinguish between what are often referred to as ‘soft drugs’ and ‘hard drugs’, instead of clubbing them under the umbrella of ‘psychotropic substances’. The Bill reads, “Hard drugs” are defined as “drugs” as under Section 2 (ia) of the principal Act that lead to significant physical and psychological addiction and degradation; “Soft drugs” are defined as “drugs” that do not produce significant physical or psychological dependence or degradation; As a result, most instances of the term ‘narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances’ have been substituted with the term ‘hard drugs’. Consumption of hard drugs, however, continues to be a punishable offence. The NDPS Committee formed under Section 6 of the NDPS Act, will discharge the function of segregating drugs under the category of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’. The Bill, inter alia, permits: The authorized and monitored sale of soft drugs; The cultivation, production, possession, manufacture, sale, purchase, transport, inter state import and export, use and consumption of soft drugs; Citizens to grow a particular quantity of soft drugs, sale of such soft drugs from Government approved shops. Consumption in public, however, will not be permitted. Cultivation also, must stay away from public view, and reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized access must be taken. http://barandbench.com/aap-mps-quest-towards-legalization-cannabis-india/
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