Pune still high on ganja and brown sugar

While seizure of traditional drugs like ganja, brown sugar is increasing in the city, seizure of party or synthetic drugs like Mephedron, MD and Meow Meow is minimal

The anti-narcotics cell of the Pune Police recorded more number of cases related to illegal drugs in 2017 than in 2016. While major cities like Mumbai and Delhi have reported increased seizures of party drugs or synthetic drugs, Pune has had a limited number of seizures. However, the city does witness use of synthetic or party drugs like Mephedron, MD, according to police inspector Sunil Dorge of the anti-narcotics cell.

Brown sugar, which comes from opium, has a major user-base in Pune even though it is slightly more expensive than other traditional drugs. (HT REPRESENTATIONAL/ISTOCK)

In 2016, the police registered 42 cases while in 2017 they registered 54 cases in Pune with a recovery of ₹62,06,490 and 62 arrests, according to the police records. The police keep track of seven psychotropic drugs and 231 types of chemical drugs, according to PI Dorge. Brown sugar, which comes from opium, has a major user-base in Pune even though it is slightly more expensive than other traditional drugs.

However, MD is difficult to track as it does not look suspicious due to its white powdery texture. “It looks like Ajinomoto and can be passed as Ajinomoto without suspicion. Peddlers also mix it with camphor powder to supply it,” PI Dogre said.

The control of synthetic drugs is difficult as little mutation to the composition can result in a new drug, the police said. Therefore, banning a drug becomes a futile exercise.

Narcotic drug raids and busts are also carried out by central and state customs, excise, narcotics bureau control, economic intelligence bureau, revenue intelligence and border security force, under the central government. Under the state government jurisdiction, besides the police, state excise, revenue department, and intelligence branch of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) have the power to carry out raids in order to control use of narcotics, according to PI Dorge.

Of the conventional drugs, ganja, charas and hashish are extracted from cannabis plant, brown sugar and heroine are extracted from opium and cocaine from coca plant.

While ganja is known to have been brought from Andhra Pradesh and places along the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border, charas is brought in from Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, according to the police.

MD, however, he says has a source in Vapi, Gujarat. However, the points of distribution keep changing in an effort to outsmart the police. “Production of synthetic drugs is high near chemical factories as they are basically extracted from pharmaceutical drugs. It takes one person with basic pharmaceutical information to change a few things in one drug and make a new one,” PI Dorge said.

Interestingly, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand have government-regulated opium farms and send the produce to a factory for production of medicinal drugs.