Taking forward his call to decriminalise poppy husk, opium
and marijuana, Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi will move a private member’s
bill in the monsoon session of Parliament to amend the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985 for it.
A draft has been prepared by a group of Delhi-based lawyers
and professionals, said Dr Gandhi, who won on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket
but remains currently suspended from the party due to differences with the
leadership.
“Discussions on the bill will be held among politicians, lawyers, psychiatrists, academicians, activists, drug users, religious leaders and media personalities this weekend to elicit their opinions and give it a final shape,” he said.
“Discussions on the bill will be held among politicians, lawyers, psychiatrists, academicians, activists, drug users, religious leaders and media personalities this weekend to elicit their opinions and give it a final shape,” he said.
“This amendment can legalise common recreational drugs like
bhukki (poppy husk), bhang (marijuana) and afeem (opium). Also, the law should
treat drug addicts as patients, not criminals,” he added. The NDPS Act was
enacted to meet the UN conventions on drug policy, he said, “but the miserable
failure of punitive measures to combat drug supply occurred as the demand saw
exponential growth, leading to creation of mafias that ensure continual supply
regardless of the harshest punishment provisions”.
He also cited that many countries had seen over the years
that by decriminalising certain substances that pose minimal health risks, and
by following harm-reduction policies, “the demand for harmful and killing
medical and synthetic nasha (intoxicants/drugs) has dropped drastically, along
with the offences committed”.
Though not naming Punjab, he said, “Certain Indian states
are currently facing a massive drug problem , with citizens between 15-40 years
of age habitually abusing drugs, and this has caused considerable harm to
society in general and youth in particular.”
The objective, he said, is also to demolish “the nexus of
politicians, police and peddlers, who are spreading the menace of harmful
artificial and synthetic drugs into the blood of youth in the country which has
succeeded in substituting the common man’s recreational drugs like opium, opium
husk and bhang”.
--HTnews
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