Is Kerala turning into the drug capital of India?

Thiruvananthapuram,July 1: In the first four months of 2016 there were 150 cases that were registered in Kerala under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropics Substances Act.

With several drug related cases being reported from the state everyday, the scenario has becoming worrisome.

Officials from the state had said that if such a scenario continues then it is not long before Kerala finds itself sailing as the same boat as Punjab.

The entry of drugs into the state is another cause for concern. The kind of drugs coming into the state these are high end and this the police says comes in from Goa.

Is Kerala the next drug capital of India?

The drug dependency a few years back was started to increase. Most of the drugs that were being used were the ones found in medical stores.

However, over the past year drugs such as Cocaine, LSD and Heroin have been pushed into Kerala and this has sent alarm bells. A senior police official notes that the problem is that it is being pushed into the state in large numbers.

In this context one must recollect the statement made by former Home Minister of the state, Ramesh Chennithala.

He had said that raves had come under the radar of the police who had found the use of high end drugs. He had further stated that it was the Naxalites who were indulging in this business.

With prohibition came the narcotics:

Kerala which moved towards total prohibition ought to have realised that this would have led to a higher rate of drug abuse.

It appears that the police were not well equipped to tackle NDPS related cases. Some officers blamed states such as Goa and Karnataka from where the drugs were being sourced.

The enforcement should be better in those states and coordination needs to improve, police officials point out.

While the increase the number of drug abuse cases cannot be blamed on total prohibition, the state would do well to have a better drug control unit.

Such units have a massive task of controlling the inflow of drugs into the market. This can be attained by having a professionally trained force and also a separate intelligence unit which can stem the flow.

OneIndia News