Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking a Critical Analysis of the Law and Enforcement in India

Introduction:

Criminal activities started when human beings lost their faith in God, became materialistic in nature, and due to which the establishment of the institution of criminal justice was considered a necessary evil. Drug abuse and illicit trafficking are the outcomes of these criminal activities that have kept humans in forever shackles of this vicious cycle of captivity.

Drug abuse and illicit trafficking have been a menace to human society from time immemorial. The after-effects of drug abuse and addiction have left millions of families, children, and adolescents in a state of utter psychological, physical as well as social issues. The false notion spread by certain social media pages, peers, drug subcultures, different people, on how certain hardcore drugs don’t harm but instead help in improving cognitive functioning, improve certain physical activities, etc, badly influences vulnerable teenagers and adults and this, in turn, makes them fall prey to drug abuse.

Drug trafficking or any other illicit trafficking is a trans-national, multi-dimensional issue that poses a thorny challenge to law enforcement agencies, as drug abuse is internally linked with other kinds of crime, such as, organized crimes, prostitution, kidnapping, money laundering, and other crimes. Every country has its laws and ways of controlling and stopping this forever revolving criminal activity, by working with different specialized agencies, different international governmental bodies, signing international treaties, etc.

Drug Abuse and Trafficking: An Historical Analysis

Indian drug trafficking and abuse are closely related to the geographical location of the Indian subcontinent. Opium use was known to have existed almost 6000 years, used by Sumerians and then passed on to Babylonians and then to Persians[1]. Alcohol’s earliest usage based on evidence was found in an Egyptian papyrus that contained the description of a brewery[2]. Opium was introduced in India in late 900 CE, through the Arab merchants and this led to the cultivation of opium on the country’s western coast. The problem of drug abuse in India mostly started in the colonial British era. During the early 1800s, the British East India Company used to export opium from different regions of India, precisely Bengal, Benaras to China. As to fight this drug problem in China, it banned the export of opium and as a result, the infamous opium wars took place[3].

Later in 1878, the British government established laws like the Opium Act of 1857, which was to regulate the cultivation and manufacturing of opium in India, then the Opium Act of 1878 was established that controlled opium use on a domestic basis. In 1920, possession of 10 grams of opium was considered illegal banning opium partially by the then Indian government. The then government also enacted different acts like the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1930 and other legislation, but the truth was it only banned these substances on a partial basis, and many illegal drug and other trafficking still happened in different Indian borders.

India according to different reports is considered to be a major hub for the illegal trading of narcotics[4]. This is because India is considered to be a transit hub and is betwixt the Golden Crescent (Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan) in the west and the Golden Triangle (South-East Asia) in the east. Different psychotropic substances are produced in India domestically as well as in other parts of the world and are mostly trafficked through the Indian Territory[5].

In 2019, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India in its report titled, “Magnitude of Substance Use in India”, stated that alcohol was considered the most commonly used substance and 19% of the users of alcohol and 0.25% of cannabis users were considered dependent on them. Opioid use was considered three times the global average, opioid, and heroin use was considered to be highest and had surpassed the previous rates of misuse. In short, it can be said that over 3 crore Indians used Cannabis, and over 2 crores misused and were addicted to heroin[6].

World Drug Report and Indian Scenario

In 1987, UN General Assembly, first observed the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, after that every year June 26 is marked and observed to raise global awareness against drug abuse and to achieve goals of an international society free of drug abuse and illicit trafficking. In 2021, the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was observed on June 26 and the theme for the same was regarding sharing facts on drugs, which in turn will save lives.

According to the World Drug Report 2021, released by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the key findings were:

• India was considered to be one of the major hubs of the illicit drug trade for cannabis, and to newer prescription-based drugs like tramadol and designer drugs like methamphetamine[7].
• In India, opioids use was considered the highest and was seen that the ATS market was expanding[8].
• Due to Covid-19, overall use of drugs has increased mostly due to socio-economic impact, extreme poverty, increase in inequalities, and it was seen that there was a greater shift towards cheaper and much more harmful drugs.
• Cannabis demands were considered higher during lockdowns[9].
• The drug market was prevalent more on the dark web, where it was relatively easy to purchase or sell drugs with the use of Bitcoins, through which the buyer and seller both can stay anonymous and this relatively escalades to other types of crimes, this is also important as per the Indian scenario as India went into lockdowns and usage of internet, etc was used more by school-going children, adults.
• As per the report in Asia, China and India were considered to be the largest exporters of different drugs, mostly cannabis to other parts of the world[10].

Laws Relating to Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in India

Article 47, Indian Constitution

This article states that It is the duty of the state to:

• Raise the level of nutrition and standards of living of people;
  • Primary duty is improvement in public health facilities, etc;
  • Control and prohibit any intoxicating, illicit drugs which are harmful to health[11].

Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985

The NDPS act is considered to be the prime legislation of the Indian subcontinent which regulates Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The NDPS act replaced the other old acts, i.e., the Opium Acts, 1857 and 1878, and the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1930, and came into force on 14 November 1985. This act is in consideration of the international treaties of which India is part of, more specifically the Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971, Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988, Transnational Crime Convention, 2000. Keeping these conventions, international, domestic setup, and criminal activities in focus, India further amended the NDPS act in 1989, 2001, and 2014.

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act 1985, deeply explains three kinds of narcotic drugs, such as cannabis and its derivatives, opium and its derivatives, and cocaine and its derivatives. Some of the features of the act are:

1. Establishment of specialized courts
2. Cognizance of any offense
3. Procedural safeguards, i.e., extensive reports in case of arrest/seizure report, proper punchanama, etc.
4. As per the NDPS act, both consumption[12] and possession of the drug is an offense and it also considers drug-based crimes heinous and a culprit can also be sentenced to death, as the punishment/penalty depends on the number of drugs the offender possesses.
5. This particular act also lays down the procedure for arresting a person if he/she is convicted under the said act[13].  
6. Central and State governments possess authority as per the act to frame rules based on drug abuse. According to Sections 9 and 76, the Central government possesses the authority of making rules relating to substance abuse, and u/s 10 and 78 the respective State government possesses the authority of making rules.

During the first amendment of the act in 1989, harsh punishments were introduced, i.e., the death penalty in certain cases, 10 years of mandatory minimum imprisonment. During the second amendment of the said act in 2001, penalties and penal provisions were imposed based on the number of drugs the person carries. Three different categories of the quantity of drugs were introduced in the said act- small[14], commercial[15], intermediate. In 2014 the NDPS act objective was widened as it prohibited illicit use of narcotics and other substances. The death penalty was made discretionary for repeated offenses.

Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988

This act was introduced supplementary to the above-mentioned NDPS act. This act covered the grounds on detention, powers of an absconding person, etc. This is also the second core legislation after the NDPS act.

Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

This act basically regulates the manufacturing, import, and distribution of drugs in the Indian subcontinent. This act makes sure that all the drugs or other cosmetics that are sold are safe, are in accordance with the state and central governmental standards, are effective. This act also considers some crimes relating to drugs as heinous and has propounded different penalties for the same in form of punishments and penalties.

Governing Agencies for Drug-Related issues in India

1. The Narcotics Control Division
2. The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN)
3. The Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB )
4. Other Agencies like the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Bureau of Investigation, Customs Commission, Border Security Force.

International Treaties and Conventions

Before the two World Wars, drug abuse and trafficking were not considered havoc on human society(in an international setup), as it was considered a means of livelihood for the colonial rulers. It was only after post world war 2 when international agencies started coming into play relating to drug abuse and illicit trafficking, and these issues were then addressed in totality and the result being different conventions being signed.     

Some of the International conventions that India is part of are:

1. Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961. 
2. Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971. 
3. Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988. 
4. Transnational Crime Convention, 2000.

Recent Indian Government initiative in tackling Substance Abuse

Nasha Mukt Bharat

In June 2020 the Social Justice Department of the Government of India launched “Nasha Mukt Bharat: Annual Action Plan (2020-2021)”, for most affected districts relating to Drug abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The action plan has different components[16]:

• Conducting awareness generation programs[17];
• Focus on higher educational institutes and schools for awareness relating to drug abuse[18];
• Identification of dependent population and emphasizing on community outreach by increasing community participation and public cooperation[19];
• Focus on major treatment facilities in hospital settings by supporting different government hospitals for opening de-addiction centers in addition to existing government-supported centers[20];
• Capacity-building programs for service providers[21]. 

National Consultative Committee on De-addiction and Rehabilitation (NCCDR)

This committee was constituted in July 2008 under the chairpersonship of the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. This Committee plays an advisory role and advises the government of India on different issues based on drug abuse, demand reduction of drugs, building awareness relating to drugs and their abuse, etc[22].

National Toll-Free Drug De-addiction Helpline

A toll-free 24×7 helpline number was set up on 7th January 2015. The focus was on helping the victims of drug abuse, and society at large.

Number: 1800-11-0031

State-Level Coordinating Agency (SLCA)

The responsibilities and roles of these SCLAs are mostly to give technical support to the respective state governments, help state governments in preparation, coordination, and proper implementation of the Annual Action Plan[23].

Counternarcotics Working Group (CNWG)

This was an initiative taken in February 2020 by the then United States President Donald Trump and between Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to tackle narcotics production and trafficking in a bilateral agreement. The CNWG initiative is considered to be a demonstrative commitment shared by both the leaders in combating the threat that illicit drug abuse and trafficking poses to both the nation.

• National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), AIIMS, Delhi has initiated various e-help relating to substance abuse.
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India have also initiated an m-cessation program which targets in terminating the use of tobacco.

Conclusion

Even with different legislation, international treaties signed, and different measures in domestic space regarding controlling and eradicating this said crime of drug abuse and illicit trafficking, it is evident that most of the countries have come up with different tactics to fight the said crime. India also has been active concerning drug-related matters, even though India has different legislations, still, it is not adequate enough to completely eradicate this crime. what India needs is a different outlook on tackling drug abuse and should learn from other countries on tackling the said crime with a strategic and legal basis by providing adequate training to the Police regarding the said crime and having certain awareness programs through social media or other media to aware the citizens of the nation about these types of abuse and illicit activities.

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References:

[1] Rishi, Dev Dass, Drug abuse and illicit trafficking a critical analysis of the law and enforcement in India, shodhganga, (August. 12, 1:00 AM), http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/10603/68322.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Pramit Bhattacharya, Drug laws in India, ipleaders, (August. 11, 2021, 7:28 PM), https://blog.ipleaders.in/drug-laws-india/.

[4] Arushi Soni, International day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking: India among major hubs for illegal trading of narcotics, firstpost, (August. 11, 2021, 8:12 PM), https://www.firstpost.com/india/international-day-against-drug-abuse-and-illicit-trafficking-india-among-major-hubs-for-illegal-trading-of-narcotics-6880841.html.

[5] Annual Report 2002, Narcotics Control Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, (August. 11, 2021, 8:13 PM), http://narcoticsindia.nic.in/ ANNUAL%20REPORT%202002%20PDFF.pdf.

[6] O. P. Singh, Substance use in India-policy implications, National Center for Biotechnology Information, (August. 12, 2021, 12:24 AM), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7197827/.

[7] World Drug Report, 2021, United Nations office on drugs and crime, (August. 11, 2021, 4:00 PM), https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/wdr2021.html.

[8] World Drug Report, 2021, United Nations office on drugs and crime, (August. 11, 2021, 4:33 PM), https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/wdr-2021_booklet-1.html.

[9] Ibid.

[10] ibid.

[11] The Indian Constitution, A.47.

[12] The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, S.27 (1985).

[13] The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, S.41, 42, 43, 50 (1985)

[14] The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, S.2 (xxiia), (1985).

[15] Ibid.

[16] Nasha mukt bharat: annual action plan (2020-21) for 272 most affected districts e-launched on international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking today, PIB india, (August. 11, 2021, 9:00 PM), https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1634574.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Ibid.

[22] Annual Report, 2020-21, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Social justice and Empowerment, Government of India, (August. 11, 2021, 9:23 PM), http://socialjustice.nic.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/ANNUAL_REPORT_2021_ENG.pdf.

[23] Ibid.