India is located between two major drug-producing regions: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran to the west and Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos to the east. While the West has historically dominated heroin production, the International Narcotics Control Board has said Myanmar has become the world’s leading source of illicit opium while East and Southeast Asia remain major sources of methamphetamine. Officials have said drugs are being received at Gujarat, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu via maritime routes. Similarly, some drugs are produced domestically using illegally diverted pharmaceutical ingredients, aided by the fact that individuals possessing small quantities of heroin can attract up to six months’ imprisonment, whereas drugmakers that cannot account for lakhs of doses often face only slaps on the wrist. The rise of Myanmar, where the territory under ethnic armed organisations is expanding, as a key source is also troubling since it shares a border with India. The Narcotics Control Bureau has noted a dramatic surge in the use of drones to smuggle drugs across borders, especially over Punjab. Traffickers are organising over the darknet and using cryptocurrencies. The pillars of India’s response thus aim to keep the enforcement regime from being out-innovated and improve regulatory certainty.
States are trying to adopt a ‘whole of society’ approach recognising the public health and social dimensions. However, India needs to do more. Physical abuse and forced detoxification are frequently reported from many private centres. Punjab has an extensive network of de addiction centres providing opioid substitution therapy, and some northeastern States to a secondary extent, but most large States have much less access relative to need. Most Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts are located in urban areas whereas the highest density of addicts in Punjab are in border villages and rural pockets. Likewise, relapse is often treated as a moral failure and many addicts avoid government centres fearing social ostracisation, particularly in rural North India. The persistence of criminal records for small-scale possession prevents youth from getting jobs, reducing their odds of escaping the drug-crime cycle. Although the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has said it has sensitised over six crore women, facilities dedicated to women are scarce and concentrated in urban areas; stigma, caregiving responsibilities, and lack of gender-responsive treatment keep many women from seeking or completing care. Finally, as evidence shows, disrupted supply can drive many users to cheaper alternatives unless accompanied by effective treatment. India must therefore shift public focus from seizures and arrests to the number of lives restored.
Published – June 30, 2026 12:10 am IST
