Drug abuse which is corroding the foundations of our society, particularly the youth, contributes to higher rates of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual violence and needs to be curbed stringently. It exacts a significant toll, with valuable human lives and productive years of many persons being lost said Chief Minister Shri Virbhadra Singh in his inaugural address on occasion of three day Judicial conference on ‘Drug Menace in India, overview, challenges and solutions’ organised by HP State Legal Services Authority at Manali in Kullu district today.
The Chief Minister said that the challenges posed by illicit drug trafficking and abuse of drugs were universal and India was no exception to this twin problem.
“Illicit drug business attracts criminal organizations because of the huge potential profits” he said, adding that online pharmacies indulging in illicit sale of pharmaceutical drugs through internet is major emerging problem nowadays which has to be countered effectively. “Elimination of a specific drug does not imply the complete elimination of the associated drug problem”, he said.
The Chief Minister said that the drug control strategies were generally aimed at achieving a balance between supply reduction and demand reduction of drugs. Without demand reduction there will only be a shift towards other drugs or substances of abuse. Therefore, neither demand reduction nor supply reduction programmes alone can fully address the problem of drug abuse. For this reason, it was mandatory that supply and demand reduction policies are applied concurrently, he asserted.
“So far as drugs supply reduction is concerned, we need to have a coordinated approach by border guarding, intelligence and drug law enforcement agencies”, he said.
As far as Malana, which has become infamous for producing Cannabis in Kullu district is concerned, the government is committed to make it drug-free, said the Chief Minister, adding that Malana though was a small speck in the world largest drug business. He urged the judiciary to decide the cases of master minds of drug business expeditiously and on priority basis so that it could be a lesson for others involved in drug business.
The enactment of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act to deal with problems of trafficking and abuse of drugs lays down stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to various narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Though, it also provides for deterrent punishments, including the death penalty and forfeiture of property of the criminals
involved in illicit drug trade, yet even after 30 years of enactment of the Act, the problem continues to loom large.
The Chief Minister said that our Government was committed to stamping out this menace and the enforcement agencies were trying their best to keep up the pressure on drug peddlers and their tactics.
He said that now a days numerous national and international drug trafficking organizations have extensive access to sophisticated technology and resources to support their illegal operations posing great challenge to our enforcement agencies.
Cannabis derivatives are the most easily and readily available illegal drugs in India, he said, adding that this crop was widely cultivated in many states, including Himachal Pradesh which needs to be curbed by enforcing strict laws.
In Himachal Pradesh, our government has laid lot of stress on spreading awareness of the risks of drug use. We have involved various departments, NGOs, and members of the community for this purpose. In the days to come, it would also be very important to leverage the opportunities provided by the internet and the social media to spread awareness about the ill effects of drugs on the health of our society, said Shri Virbhadra Singh.
Shri Virbhadra Singh stressed upon Inter-agency coordination which he termed as the most essential prerequisite for reduction in the supply of drugs. In this regard it is vital that the Central Government continues to coordinate the efforts and provide financial assistance to the States to strengthen their drug interdiction capabilities, he said.
Drug abuse does not happen in a vacuum. The environment has a profound influence on whether a person will start abusing drugs, he said. Attempts to deter drug abuse only through punishment are bound to fail because they do not address the complex causes of drug abuse, which after begin within the context of family problems. “It becomes imperative herein that continuing, comprehensive aftercare in the community, forms an integral part of our strategy to combat the drug menace”, he added. This would reduce the chances of relapse into the vicious cycle of drug abuse and crime.
We have to remain steadfast, unyielding and inflexible in our opposition to drugs he added and while doing so, we must ensure that our strategies to fight the drug menace are comprehensive and the threat at hand can be countered only with a consistent, sustained, dedicated and a well-coordinated approach among all stakeholders.
Judge of Supreme Court Mr. Justice T.S. Thakur, while addressing the august gathering said that in HP the total number of cases registered as on 31st May, 2015, under NDPS were 4366 and 871 cases alone in district Kullu were
lying pending to be decided upon after district Mandi, and for the very reason we chose to hold this conference at Manali in Himachal Pradesh.
He said that it has been seen that insurgency and exodus brings very formidable challenges with them. Though, India is second most populist country in the world having 22 official languages, the dialects change after every two kilometers. He said that as per reports 35 crore of population in coming times were likely to shift to urban areas in India in search of Jobs or otherwise and all the urban issues pertaining to their rehabilitation needs to be addressed which includes their habits too.
He stressed for abiding the law and the rules. India is a country where strict enforcement of laws are required he said. The people should respect law and the rules and then only we can form a civilised society. The Judiciary and any government needs to introspect that whether we were heading towards in right direction and doing justice to the people, he questioned. He said that Drug Problem was a serious issue. 67 percent of population in Punjab were addicted to drug abuse, which was not good for a State which is known for its valour, he said.
Shri Thakur said that if youth and labour class was addicted it was an alarm bell for we people to realise that the roots of the nation were being shaken. An unemployed jobless youth, a poor labourer is addicted, why not the intelligence agencies identify the main persons behind all the nexus.
Mr. Justice A.K. Sikri, Mr. Justice S.A. Bobde of Supreme Court of India were also present on the occasion.
Mr. Justice Rajeev Sharma, Judge HP High Court welcomed the Chief Minister and Judges of Supreme Court. He also gave his view on the most burning topic of drug abuse.
Amongst other present were Judges of Himachal Pradesh High Court, Mr. Justice D.C. Chaudhary, Mr. Justice P.S. Rana, Mr. Justice Sureshwar Thakur, Judges from State of Rajasthan, Uttrakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, Advocate General, Shri Shrawan Dogra, Secretary Law HP, Shri D.K. Sharma, Member Secretaries of National and State legal services authority, were also present on the occasion amongst legal fraternity.
Chief Justice, Himachal High Court, Justice Shri Mansoor Ahmed Mir while speaking on the occasion of three day Judicial conference on ‘Drug Menace in India, overview, challenges and solutions’ organised by HP State Legal Services Authority at Manali today, stressed upon the complete eradication of drugs and raised concern about increasing rate of druggists in the country which has touched alarming figure to around five million. He said that the epidemic of drug abuse in young generation has assumed alarming proportion in India.
It has been observed that increasing economic stress and disintegration of families are leading to drug abuse, he said. Justice Mir said that the picture was grim if the world statistics on drug scenario was taken into account. He attributed drug abuse to the changing cultural values, increasing economic stress and disintegration of families. He said that the drug business had a turnover of around $500 billion and was the third largest business next to petroleum and arms trade.
Chief Justice said that million of druggists all over the globe were leading miserable life and were fighting for life and India was no exception to it. As many as one million heroin addicts are registered in India and according to unofficial estimates their number was around five million.
Justice Mir said that the pharmaceutical products containing narcotics drugs were increasingly being abused. Drug abuse is a complex phenomenon which has various social, cultural, biological, geographical and historical aspects. He said that is estimated that in India, by the time the boys reach the ninth grade, about 50 percent of them had tried at-least one of the substance of abuse nature. He said that women in India face greater problems from drug abuse and the consequences include domestic violence and infection with HIV as well as financial burden on them.
Another disturbing trend is the abuse of synthetic stimulants. The threat from such type of drugs has assumed alarming proportions, he said, adding that it was important that demand reduction efforts were incorporated into broader social welfare and health promotion policies and preventive education programmes, with the overall aim of reducing problems associated with drug use.
Justice Mir said that the very purpose of the conference was to evolve a common strategy to end this menace and to evolve a National Policy for the legal service authority to enable it to spread the message against the scourge in every nook and corner of the country.
Union Health Minister, Shri J.P. Nadda while addressing Judicial conference on ‘Drug Menace in India, overview, challenges and solutions’ organised by HP State Legal Services Authority at Manali today said that drugs menace was a serious problem for the our Country and especially the Youth were falling easy prey to it creating serious challenge to the government and the intelligence and security agency.
He said that the victims and criminals involved in NDPS cases encompass the entire range of social strata in our country.From the rich and famous to the poor are found to be involved in and affected by the drug menace.
Shri Nadda said that some 7.3 crore people in India were used to abuse of drugs and as many as 70 percent have become heavy addicts, which was rather an alarming proportion. The number of those between age group of around eighteen was predominantly high and the problem has to be redressed by adopting measures as counselling and creating awareness. “We need a co-ordinating holistic approach with the support of the society to root out the drug abuse from the society to a large extent”, said Shri Nadda.. He stressed for incorporating the drug syllabus in schools to create awareness amongst the students so that they could be sensitised at very young stage. He said that the Union government was serious in adding a chapter in school syllabus soon to catch the youth young and sensitise them about the ill-effects of the drugs abuse.
Shri Nadda said that capacity building of society and community based intervention was need of the hour to counter the ill effects and dangers of drug abuse. The Union government had sanctioned Rs.150 crore for mental illness programmes and the NDA government was considering to start advance courses in all State and District hospitals for the very purpose. Our security agencies alone and stringent laws cant reduce the gravity of drug marketing and smuggling in isolation, said Shri Nadda, adding that with concerted efforts of the society, awareness programmes we can contain drug business to a larger extent. He congratulated the organisers for holding a workshop on the complex issue and hoped that the deliberations would come to a positive conclusion on the subject.
The Chief Minister said that the challenges posed by illicit drug trafficking and abuse of drugs were universal and India was no exception to this twin problem.
“Illicit drug business attracts criminal organizations because of the huge potential profits” he said, adding that online pharmacies indulging in illicit sale of pharmaceutical drugs through internet is major emerging problem nowadays which has to be countered effectively. “Elimination of a specific drug does not imply the complete elimination of the associated drug problem”, he said.
The Chief Minister said that the drug control strategies were generally aimed at achieving a balance between supply reduction and demand reduction of drugs. Without demand reduction there will only be a shift towards other drugs or substances of abuse. Therefore, neither demand reduction nor supply reduction programmes alone can fully address the problem of drug abuse. For this reason, it was mandatory that supply and demand reduction policies are applied concurrently, he asserted.
“So far as drugs supply reduction is concerned, we need to have a coordinated approach by border guarding, intelligence and drug law enforcement agencies”, he said.
As far as Malana, which has become infamous for producing Cannabis in Kullu district is concerned, the government is committed to make it drug-free, said the Chief Minister, adding that Malana though was a small speck in the world largest drug business. He urged the judiciary to decide the cases of master minds of drug business expeditiously and on priority basis so that it could be a lesson for others involved in drug business.
The enactment of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act to deal with problems of trafficking and abuse of drugs lays down stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to various narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Though, it also provides for deterrent punishments, including the death penalty and forfeiture of property of the criminals
involved in illicit drug trade, yet even after 30 years of enactment of the Act, the problem continues to loom large.
The Chief Minister said that our Government was committed to stamping out this menace and the enforcement agencies were trying their best to keep up the pressure on drug peddlers and their tactics.
He said that now a days numerous national and international drug trafficking organizations have extensive access to sophisticated technology and resources to support their illegal operations posing great challenge to our enforcement agencies.
Cannabis derivatives are the most easily and readily available illegal drugs in India, he said, adding that this crop was widely cultivated in many states, including Himachal Pradesh which needs to be curbed by enforcing strict laws.
In Himachal Pradesh, our government has laid lot of stress on spreading awareness of the risks of drug use. We have involved various departments, NGOs, and members of the community for this purpose. In the days to come, it would also be very important to leverage the opportunities provided by the internet and the social media to spread awareness about the ill effects of drugs on the health of our society, said Shri Virbhadra Singh.
Shri Virbhadra Singh stressed upon Inter-agency coordination which he termed as the most essential prerequisite for reduction in the supply of drugs. In this regard it is vital that the Central Government continues to coordinate the efforts and provide financial assistance to the States to strengthen their drug interdiction capabilities, he said.
Drug abuse does not happen in a vacuum. The environment has a profound influence on whether a person will start abusing drugs, he said. Attempts to deter drug abuse only through punishment are bound to fail because they do not address the complex causes of drug abuse, which after begin within the context of family problems. “It becomes imperative herein that continuing, comprehensive aftercare in the community, forms an integral part of our strategy to combat the drug menace”, he added. This would reduce the chances of relapse into the vicious cycle of drug abuse and crime.
We have to remain steadfast, unyielding and inflexible in our opposition to drugs he added and while doing so, we must ensure that our strategies to fight the drug menace are comprehensive and the threat at hand can be countered only with a consistent, sustained, dedicated and a well-coordinated approach among all stakeholders.
Judge of Supreme Court Mr. Justice T.S. Thakur, while addressing the august gathering said that in HP the total number of cases registered as on 31st May, 2015, under NDPS were 4366 and 871 cases alone in district Kullu were
lying pending to be decided upon after district Mandi, and for the very reason we chose to hold this conference at Manali in Himachal Pradesh.
He said that it has been seen that insurgency and exodus brings very formidable challenges with them. Though, India is second most populist country in the world having 22 official languages, the dialects change after every two kilometers. He said that as per reports 35 crore of population in coming times were likely to shift to urban areas in India in search of Jobs or otherwise and all the urban issues pertaining to their rehabilitation needs to be addressed which includes their habits too.
He stressed for abiding the law and the rules. India is a country where strict enforcement of laws are required he said. The people should respect law and the rules and then only we can form a civilised society. The Judiciary and any government needs to introspect that whether we were heading towards in right direction and doing justice to the people, he questioned. He said that Drug Problem was a serious issue. 67 percent of population in Punjab were addicted to drug abuse, which was not good for a State which is known for its valour, he said.
Shri Thakur said that if youth and labour class was addicted it was an alarm bell for we people to realise that the roots of the nation were being shaken. An unemployed jobless youth, a poor labourer is addicted, why not the intelligence agencies identify the main persons behind all the nexus.
Mr. Justice A.K. Sikri, Mr. Justice S.A. Bobde of Supreme Court of India were also present on the occasion.
Mr. Justice Rajeev Sharma, Judge HP High Court welcomed the Chief Minister and Judges of Supreme Court. He also gave his view on the most burning topic of drug abuse.
Amongst other present were Judges of Himachal Pradesh High Court, Mr. Justice D.C. Chaudhary, Mr. Justice P.S. Rana, Mr. Justice Sureshwar Thakur, Judges from State of Rajasthan, Uttrakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, Advocate General, Shri Shrawan Dogra, Secretary Law HP, Shri D.K. Sharma, Member Secretaries of National and State legal services authority, were also present on the occasion amongst legal fraternity.
Chief Justice stresses to check drug menace
Chief Justice, Himachal High Court, Justice Shri Mansoor Ahmed Mir while speaking on the occasion of three day Judicial conference on ‘Drug Menace in India, overview, challenges and solutions’ organised by HP State Legal Services Authority at Manali today, stressed upon the complete eradication of drugs and raised concern about increasing rate of druggists in the country which has touched alarming figure to around five million. He said that the epidemic of drug abuse in young generation has assumed alarming proportion in India.
It has been observed that increasing economic stress and disintegration of families are leading to drug abuse, he said. Justice Mir said that the picture was grim if the world statistics on drug scenario was taken into account. He attributed drug abuse to the changing cultural values, increasing economic stress and disintegration of families. He said that the drug business had a turnover of around $500 billion and was the third largest business next to petroleum and arms trade.
Chief Justice said that million of druggists all over the globe were leading miserable life and were fighting for life and India was no exception to it. As many as one million heroin addicts are registered in India and according to unofficial estimates their number was around five million.
Justice Mir said that the pharmaceutical products containing narcotics drugs were increasingly being abused. Drug abuse is a complex phenomenon which has various social, cultural, biological, geographical and historical aspects. He said that is estimated that in India, by the time the boys reach the ninth grade, about 50 percent of them had tried at-least one of the substance of abuse nature. He said that women in India face greater problems from drug abuse and the consequences include domestic violence and infection with HIV as well as financial burden on them.
Another disturbing trend is the abuse of synthetic stimulants. The threat from such type of drugs has assumed alarming proportions, he said, adding that it was important that demand reduction efforts were incorporated into broader social welfare and health promotion policies and preventive education programmes, with the overall aim of reducing problems associated with drug use.
Justice Mir said that the very purpose of the conference was to evolve a common strategy to end this menace and to evolve a National Policy for the legal service authority to enable it to spread the message against the scourge in every nook and corner of the country.
Union Govt. mulls to incorporate drug affects in school syllabus
Union Health Minister, Shri J.P. Nadda while addressing Judicial conference on ‘Drug Menace in India, overview, challenges and solutions’ organised by HP State Legal Services Authority at Manali today said that drugs menace was a serious problem for the our Country and especially the Youth were falling easy prey to it creating serious challenge to the government and the intelligence and security agency.
He said that the victims and criminals involved in NDPS cases encompass the entire range of social strata in our country.From the rich and famous to the poor are found to be involved in and affected by the drug menace.
Shri Nadda said that some 7.3 crore people in India were used to abuse of drugs and as many as 70 percent have become heavy addicts, which was rather an alarming proportion. The number of those between age group of around eighteen was predominantly high and the problem has to be redressed by adopting measures as counselling and creating awareness. “We need a co-ordinating holistic approach with the support of the society to root out the drug abuse from the society to a large extent”, said Shri Nadda.. He stressed for incorporating the drug syllabus in schools to create awareness amongst the students so that they could be sensitised at very young stage. He said that the Union government was serious in adding a chapter in school syllabus soon to catch the youth young and sensitise them about the ill-effects of the drugs abuse.
Shri Nadda said that capacity building of society and community based intervention was need of the hour to counter the ill effects and dangers of drug abuse. The Union government had sanctioned Rs.150 crore for mental illness programmes and the NDA government was considering to start advance courses in all State and District hospitals for the very purpose. Our security agencies alone and stringent laws cant reduce the gravity of drug marketing and smuggling in isolation, said Shri Nadda, adding that with concerted efforts of the society, awareness programmes we can contain drug business to a larger extent. He congratulated the organisers for holding a workshop on the complex issue and hoped that the deliberations would come to a positive conclusion on the subject.
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