Government likely to ask addicts to submit for rehabilitation to avoid jail time

As the Union government debates decriminalising consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, it is likely to bring in a policy where addicts and users will have to submit themselves before treatment centres and declare themselves as such in order to escape criminal prosecution.

In the past two years, the number of vulnerable districts (for drug use) have gone up from 272 to 372, with Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Goa, Chandigarh, Puducherry, and Tripura having 100% districts marked as vulnerable. These are followed by Uttarakhand and Punjab, where 92.30% and 86.95% districts have been marked vulnerable, respectively.

The growing problem of substance abuse in J&K

According to the substance usage survey conducted by the Social Justice Ministry through AIIMS in 2018, alcohol had emerged as the most used substance among adults at 17.1% prevalence. Apart from this, the survey showed that cannabis use had the highest prevalence at 3.30%, followed by opioids (2.10%), sedatives (1.21%), inhalants (0.58%) and cocaine (0.11%).

Currently, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, the consumption of any narcotic drugs or psychotropic substance may attract a jail term of up to one year and/or fines up to ₹20,000.

As of now, while enforcement agencies are targeting supply chains, the Social Justice Ministry is concurrently running country-wide awareness and rehabilitation campaigns to treat users and addicts like victims and not criminals.

Citing examples of countries that have followed the total decriminalisation path, a senior government official argued that it was an “ineffective policy”. The official said that under the scheme that is being considered, consumers who are caught must submit themselves to treatment facilities and can only be be back into society once cleared by the rehabilitation centre.

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For minors who are caught consuming illegal substances, the onus will be on the parents to declare their wards as users or addicts and check them into an appropriate facility.

Anticipating an influx of users once this option becomes a reality, the Social Justice Ministry is now preparing to scale up the network of 508 rehabilitation and de-addiction facilities it supports under the campaign for drug demand reduction — Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan.

The centres currently operational include about 340 integrated rehabilitation centres for addicts (in-patient care), about 50 community-based peer-led intervention centres, 71 outreach and drop-in centres (out-patient care), and about 46 addiction treatment facilities (advanced medical care in government hospitals).

Not all 372 districts have one of each of these, with officials explaining that the level of treatment varies from drug to drug and depends on the level of dependence as well. “Sometimes, discussions and counselling like Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are enough, not all require medical intervention,” one official said.

On the one hand, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment intends to increase the number of rehabilitation centres it is directly supporting — like addiction treatment facilities, 125 of which are expected to be launched this year. On the other, it is aggressively pursuing tie-ups with spiritual and faith-based organisations.

Integrated approach

“The department is looking to tie-up with spiritual and faith-based organisations or any organisations, including private ones, that have their own hospitals, educational institutes, counselling facilities, etc. We want to be able to use these facilities to boost the drug demand reduction campaign,” a government official said.

In March this year, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Brahma Kumaris of Mount Abu to “spread the message of Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan among the youth, women, students, etc.”. This week, the Department signed a similar MoU with Art of Living, the NGO run by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, with sources adding that one more MoU is likely to be signed in the coming weeks with another spiritual and faith-based organisation popular in the south of India.

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Apart from addiction treatment facilities, most other centres run under the NMBA are supported by the government but operated by NGOs or voluntary organisations.

However, some of the NGOs running these centres have said that the government still needs to address a lot of problems they are facing currently.

Awadhraj Singh, president of the Raj Foundation Sansthan, an NGO running rehabilitation and intervention centres in Rajasthan, said, “The guidelines give us just 30 days to treat someone who is addicted to smack for instance. That is nowhere near enough and, very often, we see people relapsing and coming back to us. Usually, it takes at least five months to treat someone who is addicted to smack. Now, we just ask the families to make sure the patients are at home for at least one more month after discharge.”

He added that many integrated rehabilitation centres for addicts have just one government doctor each, who are not able to give their undivided attention to patients and treat them.

“Across two IRCAs, call-ins and walk-ins put together, about 70 people visit every day. A start would be to change the guidelines and give us more time to treat people,” Mr. Singh suggested.