The Punjab government has recommended to the Union government the death penalty for first-time offenders convicted for drug trafficking and smuggling.The assumption is that harsher measures can help deal with the State’s drug problem.

NDPS act & its implementation :

• The law on drugs is covered by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act).
• The Act’s primary objective is to deter drug trafficking.
• It uses every trick in the book to achieve this: strict liability offences, mandatory minimum sentences, even the death penalty for certain repeat offences.
• The law also provides a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for offences involving commercial quantities of drugs.
• Deterrence by harsh punishments has consistently failed.
• In 2015, 41.7% of all prisoners in Punjab were in jail for various offences related to this law.

Escape route provided in law :

• An executive notification passed by the Department of Revenue in 2009 led to a major change in how commercial quantities under the Act were determined.
• This notification assigns punishment based on the weight of the whole drug and not just pure content.
• As a result, sentencing in pharmaceutical drug cases changed drastically across Punjab.
• A case in Patiala where unauthorised possession of 20 bottles of cough syrup led to a 10-year prison sentence drives home this claim.

Flaws in the investigation process :

• The law also seeks deterrence through strict liability provisions. Under the law, proving possession alone is sufficient, the prosecution does not have to prove intent to lead to a conviction.
• The police in Punjab follow a template charge-sheet format, just to prove possession.
• They rarely examine the intent of the criminal act.
• The Act is also blatantly unforgiving of anyone found in possession of any drug.
• The way investigation is conducted right now, it is impossible to tell whether the person is a peddler or smuggler, or an addict feeding his habit.

Why is act proving a deterrent ?

• Section 27 of the Act makes consuming any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance a criminal offence.
• Criminalising addiction stigmatises it, which automatically inhibits addicts from coming forward for treatment.

Way Forward :

• The Cabinet’s proposal to make the law even harsher may alleviate people’s concerns for the time being, but it will not yield the results the state, as well as its people so desperately, seek.
• The state should consider decriminalising addiction and developing an effective treatment strategy by consulting experts, partner agencies and users, and allocate adequate resources.