Congress MP Dharamvira Gandhi Advocates for Decriminalisation of Organic Intoxicants to Combat Punjab’s Drug Crisis

Congress leader Dharamvira Gandhi, a second-term Lok Sabha member from Patiala and medical professional, has renewed the push for the decriminalisation of organic intoxicants such as opium, “bukki” (sawdust produced from poppy), and marijuana. According to Gandhi, Punjab, which is grappling with a drug abuse crisis, is witnessing increasing public support for legalising softer, natural psychotropic substances as a way to address drug abuse and simultaneously revive the agricultural economy.

During his first term, Gandhi had proposed the enactment of a law in this regard. Speaking to Frontline, he said: “The Bill is now expected to be introduced in Parliament as a Private Member’s Bill in the upcoming winter session. The ban on traditional substances paved the way for injectables, leading to the spread of AIDS, hepatitis, and other diseases.”

People running de-addiction centres too have suggested that those trying to give up addiction to heroin or cocaine should be given organic substances in regulated quantities. In Punjabi popular culture, the rapper Gopi Longia and other well-known singers have condemned chemical nasha (intoxicants) and voiced support for organic substances. Longia even dedicated a song to marijuana.

As per National Crime Records Bureau data, Punjab had the highest number of drug overdose deaths in 2022. Some experts said that drug abuse became a plague in Punjab after the implementation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

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Gandhi said: “The ban on traditional plant-based substances such as opium, poppy, and marijuana, which were used for recreational and medicinal purposes, created a market for medical intoxicants followed by synthetic and chemical intoxicants. The NDPS Act has played havoc with Punjab. It led to mafias working in connivance with some politicians and government officials.” He added: “Natural intoxicants are not life threatening and did not lead to social crimes. They do not harm the life of farmers or labourers. Rather, they augment the capacity for hard work.”

Dharamvira Gandhi, Member of the Lok Sabha, Patiala.
| Photo Credit:
AKHILESH KUMAR

Gandhi is not alone in his demand. The Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has supported the demand several times, as have the veteran politicians Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Tarsem Jodhan.

In October, the Punjab government set up a committee to study the growth of wild cannabis in Chandigarh and Punjab. Cannabis grows naturally in large stretches of the State owing to favourable climate and soil conditions. “With scientific and technological intervention, the government can capitalise on this vast untapped potential. The hemp plant can be used for the production of fabric. It can be used for paper production, health, and wellness,” Gandhi said, adding that improved plant varieties need to be introduced.

NDPS and States

The NDPS Act prohibits the cultivation, possession, sale, consumption, use, and inter-State transport of all plant-based psychotropic substances, including opium, cannabis, and hemp. Certain State governments such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have exercised their jurisdiction under Section 10 of the NDPS Act and allowed the cultivation of hemp.

The NDPS Act was enacted as per the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. But now, worldwide, experts believe that such laws have lost their relevance.

In June 2024, Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, asked countries to shift attention to harm reduction in drug policies.

According to Gandhi, the treaty’s objectives were to eradicate the drug trade and reduce the number of drug users. “However, the outcomes have been strikingly contrary, largely due to the implementation of draconian laws. Rather than curbing the problem, these measures have given rise to a new and more complex issue: narco-terrorism, particularly in conflict zones.”

He also pointed out that drug cartels and drug users have proliferated all over the world. “Alcohol and cigarettes are far more injurious to health than poppy, poppy husk, and marijuana. But governments are propagating their sales due to the big money involved,” he added.

Voices of support

The Ludhiana-based psychiatrist Anirudh Kala, author of Most of What You Know About Addiction Is Wrong, said that the belief that easier access to intoxicants leads to wider consumption is misguided. “Although alcohol is readily available, only 15 per cent of the people consume it,” he said.

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Both Gandhi and Kala are advocates of amendments to the NDPS Act to incorporate “concessions” for the use of natural intoxicants. They pointed to the examples of Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, and at least 25 US States that have decriminalised cannabis, adding that decriminalisation has actually resulted in a dramatic drop in overdose deaths and drug-related crimes in Portugal.

When the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Punjab in 2022, it promised to make the State drug-free in three months. However, the party now acknowledges the problem’s complexity and how it is not possible to provide quick solutions to solve it. Former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had also come to power on the promise of ending Punjab’s drug menace in four weeks.

“People rarely die from consuming natural substances,” Kala said. He compared the situation to colonial laws banning homosexuality in India. “It was not even a crime in India before colonial rule. The British decriminalised homosexuality in 1965 in their own country, but we could do so only in 2018 after a Supreme Court ruling. Similarly, we will decriminalise plant-based intoxicants, but it will take time.”