Recently, the Harm Reduction Consortium launched the first-ever Global Drug Policy Index, a data-driven international analysis of drug regulations and their application. The release coincides with the Indian government’s review of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 terms. The Harm Reduction Consortium, an international network consortium, aims to challenge the prevailing “war on drugs,” increase access to harm reduction services, and push for more funds for harm reduction.
About the Global Drug Policy Index
The Global Drug Policy Index is a unique tool that compiles, gauges, and contrasts national-level drug policies. It assigns a score and rank to each country—representing the degree to which its drug laws and their enforcement align with the United Nations principles of human rights, health, and development. This Index serves a crucial role in promoting accountability and evaluation within the drug policy field. It assesses the performance of 30 countries spanning all world regions.
Key Findings
The Index’s significant findings reveal that the global predominance of drug policies anchored in repression and punishment have resulted in low scores overall—with a median score of a mere 48 out of 100. Norway, the highest-ranking country, only achieved 74 out of 100.
Civil society experts’ standards and expectations concerning drug policy enactment differ from one nation to another, and inequality is deeply ingrained in global drug policies. The top five ranked countries scored three times as much as the bottom five, partly due to the colonial legacy of the ‘war on drugs’ strategy.
Drug regulations disproportionately impact individuals marginalized based on their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. State policies and their practical implementation exhibit vast disparities. Except for a few exceptions, the substantive participation of civil society and affected communities in drug policy processes remains distinctly limited.
India’s Performance in the Index
In the Global Drug Policy Index, India ranked 18 out of the 30 evaluated countries and received an aggregate score of 46 out of 100. The country exhibited various scores across different aspects: it scored 63 out of 100 for using extreme sentencing and responses; 49 out of 100 in health and harm reduction; 38 out of 100 concerning the proportionality of criminal justice response; and 33 out of 100 in terms of the availability and accessibility of internationally controlled substances for alleviating pain and suffering.
This assessment of India’s stance towards drug policies and their execution provides a data-driven foundation for policy changes and further discussions. As the Indian government evaluates amendments to its primary drug control legislation, this Index’s findings may potentially impact the outcomes of this crucial review. A comprehensive understanding of India’s performance from a global viewpoint can facilitate more informed decision-making processes in modifying and enforcing drug policies.
