Punjab to rehabilitate those caught with non-commercial quantity of drugs
In the past 12 days of the Punjab government’s war against drugs campaign, more than 1,600 drug smugglers and peddlers have been arrested. Officials said the government was in no mood to criminalise addicts who have recently been caught with non-commercial quantity by putting them behind bars.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government has decided to de-addict and rehabilitate those caught with non-commercial quantity of drugs by providing them immunity under Section 64 (a) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
In the past 12 days of the Punjab government’s war against drugs campaign, more than 1,600 drug smugglers and peddlers have been arrested.
Under its new strategy already announced by chief minister Bhagwant Mann at a meeting in which a detailed roadmap to curb drug menace within three months was finalised, officials dealing with de-addiction revealed that it has been decided to help de-addict and rehabilitate those caught with non-commercial quantity i.e. less than 2.5 gram in case of heroin. Under the NDPS Act, the government has defined commercial and non-commercial quantities of various drugs used illegally.
Officials said the government was in no mood to criminalise addicts who have recently been caught with non-commercial quantity by putting them behind bars.
Section 64(A) of the NDPS Act provides immunity from prosecution to addicts/persons who are charged with an offence punishable under section 27 (punishment of consumption of any narcotic drug or any psychotropic substance) or with offences involving a small quantity of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances provided that they volunteer to undergo treatment for de-addiction.
“Who voluntarily seeks to undergo medical treatment for de-addiction from a hospital or an institution maintained or recognised by the government or a local authority and undergoes such treatment shall not be liable to prosecution under section 27 or under any other section for offences involved in a small quantity of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances,” reads the section.
The section also states that the said immunity from prosecution may be withdrawn if the addict does not undergo complete treatment for de-addiction.
Senior officials dealing with the anti-drugs campaign (Yudh Nashian Virudh) claimed that the actual analysis of the campaign is yet to be done as the drive has just started and how many people have been caught with non-commercial quantity statewide it is yet to be ascertained.
“However, it is sure that big number of arrested people include small-time peddlers who had jumped into this trade because of their addiction,” a senior police officer said.
Figures given by the Punjab Police about the daily arrests also point fingers towards large number of accused arrested with non-commercial quantities.
According to official figures, Punjab on Wednesday conducted raids at 543 locations leading to the arrest of 118 drug smugglers and recovered 994 grams heroin, 4,633 intoxicant tablets/pills/injections. With 71 first information reports (FIRs) registered across the state on Wednesday, the total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 1,658 in just 12 days.
Special DGP (law and order) Arpit Shukla said enforcement, deaddiction and prevention (EDP) are the main plan of the government to eradicate drug menace from the state.
“As part of ‘de-addiction’, we have convinced 19 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment. Even the government also want to treat the addicts as patients not as criminal. We will use section 64-A to de-addict those who are not peddlers and have been caught with small quantities to bring those youth back on track by treating them,” said Shukla.
Dr Sandeep Bhola, a de-addiction expert of the Punjab government, revealed that the government has also decided to upgrade its own rehabilitation centres so that addicts should themselves come to government run-rehabilitation centres for treatment.