The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 was enacted to curb drug trafficking through deterrent penalties while streamlining efforts towards treatment and rehabilitation of people dependent on illicit substances.
- In practice, the act has prioritized criminalization over public health priorities for addressing addiction-related harms.
- With rising substance use disorders nationally, gaps in the NDPS Act’s rights-based protections and adequate healthcare services for affected groups have come to the fore warranting remedial policy actions.
Key Shortcomings in India’s Anti-Drug Law
- Disproportionate focus on incarceration over recovery: Over 60% of prison inmates nationwide comprise people convicted for minor drug offences. Punitive sanctions neither reform behaviors nor prevent relapse risks after release.
- Barriers to accessing harm reduction services: Despite growing injection drug use and related risks of HIV and hepatitis C infections, opioid substitution therapy remains unavailable in many drug treatment centers due to legal hindrances. Needle exchange programs restricted.
- Inadequate access to evidence-based treatment: Quality drug rehabilitation facilities in short supply while unqualified practitioners dominate the sector. Coercive practices at unregulated private de-addiction centers violating patient rights are common with minimal oversight.
- Neglect of at-risk communities: Criminalized environments drive people who use drugs underground, deterring them from accessing health services and exposing them to additional risks of police harassment, stigma, discrimination impacting rehabilitation.
- No pathways for reintegration post-release: Absence of coordinated aftercare services on counseling, vocational skills, income support hamper social reintegration of former substance users released from prisons posing risks of relapse, overdose deaths or return to illegal activities.
Rights and Health Centered Legal Guidance on Addiction Required
- Decriminalize possession of small quantities for personal use to reduce unnecessary incarceration of people who use drugs. Retain deterrence focus on large scale trafficking.
- Expand harm reduction services like needle exchange programs and evidence-based drug dependence treatment including opioid substitution therapy.
- Develop clear regulations on minimum standards of care, oversight mechanisms and rights protections in rehabilitation settings. Ban coerced treatment practices violating patient autonomy.
- Invest in community-based outreach offering low-threshold primary healthcare, diagnostics, counseling and medication-assisted therapy for high risk groups rather than limiting services to closed institutional facilities.
- Ensure post-release follow-up care through coordinated case management between prisons, community-based organizations, health facilities and social welfare services supporting reintegration needs.
Strategic Review of NDPS Act Implementation Required
Given the rising threat posed by substance use disorders nationally, a balanced rights and health-based approach necessitates reviewing the applications and outcomes of the NDPS Act alongside expanding healthcare and social support capacities.
Monitoring Impact of Drug Policies
- Assess alignment of SNDPS implementation processes with Supreme Court directives against subjecting people who use drugs to harassment or denying treatment.
- Review custodial deaths, complaints of rights violations, forced confessions, false cases and disproportionate arrests of vulnerable groups under NDPS Act.
- Analyze conviction and recidivism rates post-release to gauge deterrence impact and structural drivers of return to illicit drug use.
Healthcare Infrastructure and Workforce Preparedness
- Audit existing network of government funded drug rehabilitation centers on coverage, quality benchmarks compliance, post-release follow-up rates.
- Map accessibility barriers and demand-supply gaps for Opioid Agonist Therapy nationally with focus on improving last mile outreach.
- Review healthcare professionals availability, competencies and training needs across disciplines – counseling, psychiatric support, pain management, rehabilitation, social work etc.
Community Centered Services
- Assess suitability and utilization of existing social security benefits like disability pensions, housing, schemes for released prisoners, skill development programs among affected groups.
- Study structural factors like lack of identification documents, discrimination deterring access, constraints on participation posed by ill health or closed settings preventing uptake of welfare services.
- Develop community-led models prioritizing peer support workers, outreach for marginalized groups like women, enhancing cooperation between health providers and community leaders.
The Way Forward
- With addiction and substance abuse increasingly recognized as a public health issue rather than solely a criminal justice matter, rebalancing India’s legal framework and policies concerning narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances warrants urgent attention.
- By promoting harm reduction, enhancing healthcare capacities, regulating against rights violations in treatment settings and fostering community centered approaches, India can refocus its drug control regime to respect the rights and uphold the health of all people who use drugs while retaining provisions deterring large scale trafficking.
- The NDPS Act retains an important function but requires realignment to the health and human rights challenges substance use disorders pose to the nation, a vast population impacted and communities bearing disproportionate burdens of inadequate policy responses further marginalizing vulnerable groups.