India

Drug policy in India: Key developments since the UNGASS 2016

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 13:41:26 +0000

This paper outlines the key drug policy developments in India since the UNGASS Outcome Document was adopted in 2016, which highlights health and human rights concerns in relation to both drugs and dr ...

Dr Gandhi to move Bill to legalise recreational drugs

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 12:12:22 +0000

Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi said that he was working on an amendment to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act 1985 of India to legalize common recreational drugs. The draft of the ...

Punjab’s war on drugs is more a war on drug addicts

Wed, 08 Jun 2016 11:16:37 +0000

In May 2014, stung by allegations of inaction over the rampant abuse and trafficking of drugs, the Punjab government launched an aggressive crackdown with Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Sukh ...

Scholars, politicians kick off debate on legalising drug sale

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 13:23:07 +0000

With less than a year before the Assembly elections, several civil society activists, scholars and politicians — for the first time — have joined hands and launched a campaign demanding that controll ...

Cannabis ban is elitist. It should go: Tathagata Satpathy

Thu, 16 Jul 2015 01:03:07 +0000

BJD chief whip in Lok Sabha (India's lower house in parliament) Tathagata Satpathy recently admitted on social media that he smoked cannabis in his younger days. The four-time MP from Dhenkanal in Od ...

Is it legal to get high on bhang in India?

Tue, 19 Jul 2016 11:05:42 +0000

For centuries bhang – which is a paste created by grinding cannabis leaves – has been mixed in milk, laddoos or pakoras as a special treat with a kick for Holi, the Hindu festival of color and spring ...

Drug policy in India

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:36:59 +0000

India’s response to drugs flows along an extraordinary spectrum – of tradition and modernity; of widespread availability and stringent enforcement; of tolerance and prohibition; of production for med ...

Too harsh to work

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:07:39 +0000

There is no appetite in India for a serious conversation on drugs. The prime minister’s recent radio talk on the subject confirms that. Yet, drugs and laws to deal with them engage civil liberties, h ...

A more enlightened approach to intoxicants should legalise marijuana

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 10:51:41 +0000

With two US states - Washington and Colorado - voting to legalise the recreational use of marijuana, a similar liberal approach towards mild intoxicants in India is up for debate. Consumption of mari ...

The joint campaign: Should we not legalize recreational use of cannabis?

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 10:17:26 +0000

What two American states, Washington and Colorado, have decided to do - legalize recreational use of marijuana - was the norm in India until 1985. All cannabis derivatives - marijuana (grass or ganja ...

India

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:41:49 +0000

Trends Drug users in India have long been the target of systematic profiling, leading in turn to unwarranted detention and arrests. However, some positive changes in law enforcement practices have be ...

On the Frontline of Northeast India

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:16:59 +0000

Conflict and underdevelopment in the region have contributed to drug consumption and production, and are hampering access to treatment, care and support for drug users. Obstacles include curfews impo ...