This fund was created under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and a corpus of Rs 23 crore was alloted. The law provides that this fund will be used to combat illegal drug trafficking, rehabilitation of addicts, and prevention of substance abuse.
Highlights
India?s Ministry of Justice and Social Empowerment (MoSJE) recommends that the National Fund be used to implement programs on drug de-addiction, rather than mere policing. The ministry also recommends eliminating the decriminalisation for possession of small amounts of drugs for consumption purposes.
Drug Use in the Country
A total of approximately 60,000 proceedings have been filed under the NDPS Act, of which more than 33,000 are in possession of personal drugs and more than 26,000 are in the market, according to a report by the National Crime Record Bureau?s Crime in India for the year 2020 report. According to a report on 2019 drug use levels, there were 2.3 crore opioid users and 1 crore cannabis users.
Reasons for Drug Abuse
Many teenagers use drugs “because others do” -or think they do-that they are unacceptable in a social environment that includes drug-using peers. The abused drug interacts with the neurochemistry of the brain to create pleasure. The intensity depends on the type of drug and how it is used thus giving a feel good effect. Some teenagers experience depression, social anxiety, stress-related disorders, and physical pain. Taking drugs can be an attempt to relieve these feelings of distress. Stress plays a particularly important role in the initiation and continuation of substance use and in the resumption (recurrence) of substance use in people seeking relaxation. We are a highly competitive society, and the pressure to do it can be high, both athletic and academic. Some teens may look to certain medications, such as illegal stimulants and prescription stimulants. We believe that these substances improve performance. Teens often want to have new experiences, especially exciting and bold ones.
