Summary:
At a time when the world is starting to move away from Nixon’s 1970s concept of “war on drugs” and looking at addicts with compassion, the Himachal Pradesh assembly cleared the stringent Narcotic Drugs And Psychotropic Substances (Himachal Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2018. The total number of NDPS cases registered in 2018 in Himachal is likely to cross 1,300.It’s not that the lawmakers are not aware of the ground reality. So far, Punjab has registered more than 40,000 cases under the NDPS Act, and thrown around 50,000 people behind bars. The idea is clear — instant jail and no bail, thereafter.Before implementing such measures, the BJP government in Himachal should first take a look at its neighbour Punjab. A massive police crackdown was started in Punjab as a kneejerk reaction of SAD-BJP government after drug menace became a major poll issue in 2014..