In every civilisation, the society upholds the interests and welfare of the public and the community by establishing a set of norms, rules and regulations, cultivating a sense of good and trying to reverse the wrongs among its members, and instilling morality, nationhood and honesty. To ensure that the interests and goodness of the society as a whole are preserved and that it’s populace complies with the expectations and directives that the society sets for them, the society regulates the behaviour of its members and ameliorates its upkeep and welfare. Every civilisation holds that it is in the best interest of the community as a whole for its members to attain and keep sound health to the largest extent feasible, since this optimises their ability to contribute to the community. The laws, rules, regulations and norms governing the health of its natives are enforced and regulated by the society in such a way as the welfare interests of the society are presumed to be supreme in order to safeguard, respect and regard the welfare of its members and secure the growth and wellbeing of the society as a whole.

The consumption of drugs leads the consumer to a state of temporary deprivation from anyone’s regular rational thinking. Drugs are affecting and ruining the youth in a disastrous and menacing manner. It is pushing them towards addiction and inertia while they are in the golden years of the prime of their youth. It tosses and topples the careers of these young minds into question, it is driving families towards poverty. Hence, the drugs are forging destruction upon anyone who comes in contact with the substance. Therefore, it is posing a strategic and litmus test challenge to India which she needs to resolve, manage, administer and overcome.

Situation in Punjab

When we analyse the drug situation in Punjab, we come across the astounding figures pin-pointing that a total of 11,654 cases under Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act were registered in 2018. The cases charge sheeted in the interregnum period stands at 11,763. The underlying issue lies in the conviction rate in Punjab. It is reported that out of these 11,763 cases charge sheeted, only 5036 were convicted. The problem lies in the convictions. One out of Two addicts and convicts accused of the drug related offences were let off to walk out free.

Drugs in Desert State

In Rajasthan, the numbers of drug abuse cases might not be as alarming as in Punjab as the total cases registered under Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act in 2018 stands at 1862 out of which 1616 cases have been since charge sheeted. However, the said period observed only 437 convictions, this once again draws our attention towards the low conviction rate as one of the major attributing factors which has made the people involved in the drug trade as fearlessly resorting to this menace.

Convictions in Jammu and Kashmir

Number of cases registered in the UTs of J&K under Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act in 2018 stands at 938 and the cases charge sheeted stand at 995. However, the real horrors are revealed when it is observed that in 2018, J&K observed only 38 convictions.

Situation in Himachal Pradesh

Number of cases under Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act that were registered during 2018 aggregate to 1342 out of which the State has filed chargesheets in 1255 cases. However, once again the convictions that resulted in the year 2018 is disappointing, the figure stands at only 195.

Uttarakhand

Cases under Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act registered during 2018 stands at 1064 against which chargesheets were filed in 954. The convictions occurred in drug related offences during the said year are negligible, the figure being mere 102.

Consumption of drugs leads the consumer to a state of temporary deprivation from anyone’s regular rational thinking. Drugs are affecting and ruining the youth in a disastrous and menacing manner

The low conviction rate is now being observed as a major crisis in almost every state which has been discussed so far.

Cases in Assam

Number of cases under Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act registered during 2018 comes out to be 478. The total number of cases charge sheeted in the said year enumerates to 483. However once again the convictions in 2018 are disappointing. Assam had only 9 convictions in the year 2018.

Arunachal Pradesh

Cases under Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act registered during 2018 stands at 122 out of which 109 cases were those in which chargesheets have been filed but once again the problem lies in the conviction rate which stands at just 2!

It is also a known fact that the business of drugs has the ability to give birth to organised crimes in a society in the fear of cartels leading to a glaring new problem of law and order. Another bigger challenge that has to be looked into is the finances involved, the drug business generates a huge revenue in India, the close nexus between terrorists and criminals leads to high chances of using the revenue generated from the drug trade in India to finance the terrorist activities in India.

The major problem lies in the low conviction rate across the states. In order to fix this, it is suggested that the law enforcement agencies should be specifically and strategically trained at the process of collecting and presenting evidences for securing convictions in a court of law. This can be adopted by offering courses in forensic sciences to the officers serving in the law enforcement agencies.

Special Courts

The State can establish specialised courts empowered to try only drug related cases by such judicial experts as have expertise and exposure in drug related matters and drugs trafficking. It would ensure a speedy trial and instill the fear of the law and administration in the minds of the culprits.

Destroying the smuggling routes

The state shall now work in consensus with its intelligence agencies to determine and trace the routes which are being used for smuggling and then the law enforcement agencies can bring the identified routes under their observance to ensure the destruction of the route.

Checking the funds

Destroying the drug economy is like breaking the backbone of any business, the financial crimes agencies such as the ED and NIA can be called upon to trace the handling of the funds by the cartels and take active and stringent measures to freeze their assets. It would damage the operative capabilities of the cartel forcing them to collapse.

Rehabilitation Centres

Promoting the culture of rehabilitation in the state would be a new ray of hope for those addicts who wish to leave and quit. This can help reduce the number of drug consumers in the society.

Awareness Campaigns

Making the susceptible youth aware of the hazards and consequences of drug abuse can help reduce the number of people who fall for drugs.

The problem of drug consumption has indeed turned into a strategic and gruesome challenge and now the states have to resort to exemplary and punishing measures by working in collusion with its limbs and its agencies in order to curb the menace. In this paper, we introduced ourselves to the issue of drug abuse and then analysed the data surrounding it. This paper then analysed the strategic issues which are posed by the drug trade in India, the paper then illuminated and recommended the various solutions that can be adopted and implemented to curb the menace. With this discussion, it shall be concluded that the fight against drugs is one that warrants the collective and collaborative efforts of the citizens and the state and the states’ machinery either of the two cannot fight the menace alone.