Why in news?

Punjab’s drug crisis has triggered fresh unrest. Recently, police took custody of the body of 35-year-old Daljit Singh, who died of a suspected overdose.

His family was taking the body to a protest site in Mansa. At that site, the family of activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was already protesting. Jhota was shot dead on October 13 by a chemist he had confronted over the sale of prohibited drugs.

With Assembly elections due next year, drugs have become a central political issue in the state.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Scale of the Problem
• Historical Roots: Social Acceptance of Intoxicants
• Geographic Vulnerability
• Rise of Pharmaceutical Drugs
• Drones: A New Smuggling Tool
• Economics of the Drug Trade
• Policy Responses Over the Years

Scale of the Problem

• Punjab has struggled with drugs for nearly 15 years. The problem shows no sign of easing.
• As per NCRB 2024 data (released September 2026):
  • Punjab leads India with 6,060 drug trafficking cases.
  • It recorded 106 overdose deaths, second only to Tamil Nadu (313).

Historical Roots: Social Acceptance of Intoxicants

• Intoxicants have a long history in Punjab.
• Before Independence, opium (afeem) and poppy husk were socially accepted. People consumed them in small quantities, often on a doctor’s advice.
  • The Royal Commission on Opium (1894) found that opium use in India was generally very low, but had been common for centuries among certain groups in North India.
• Home-brewed liquor (desi daru) was the most popular and accepted form of intoxication.
• Opium use continued after Independence despite a state ban. People simply crossed into Rajasthan, which had legal opium shops (thekas).
• A 1979 study found opium use was widespread in rural Punjab, even though it had to be smuggled in.

Geographic Vulnerability

• Proximity to the Golden Crescent
  • Punjab shares a 553-km border with Pakistan. This makes it a natural transit route for drugs.
  • The Golden Crescent (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) is one of three major global heroin-processing centres.
    • The other two are the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos) and South America.
  • Police officials describe the problem as narco-terrorism. They say Pakistan began pushing drugs into Punjab to weaken the state after militancy declined.
• Multiple Supply Routes
  • Heroin (chitta): Smuggled across the porous Pakistan border.
  • Opium and poppy husk: From Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where cultivation is legal for medical, scientific and export purposes.
  • Charas and hashish: From Himachal Pradesh.
  • High-quality heroin: Suspected to come from Delhi via Gujarat, Rajasthan (Ganganagar, Hanumangarh) or Jammu and Kathua.

Rise of Pharmaceutical Drugs

• Tighter border enforcement pushed users towards pharmaceutical drugs. In 2021, the Centre extended the BSF’s jurisdiction from 15 km to 50 km inland.
  • In 2024, India seized 5.13 crore pharma drug units. Punjab alone accounted for 2.94 crore, more than half.
  • About 25% of NDPS FIRs filed by Punjab Police in 2022 involved pharma drugs.
  • Around 80% of these drugs come from manufacturing hubs in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.
• The Jhota killing itself was linked to the illegal sale of pharma drugs.

Drones: A New Smuggling Tool

• Drone-based smuggling has grown sharply.
• BSF data shows drone droppings rose from 3 in 2021 to over 200 in 2025.
• Most are small Chinese quadcopters carrying heroin and weapons. They now land even in daylight. The Amritsar–Tarn Taran–Ferozepur–Gurdaspur belt is the core of this corridor.
• The BSF has set up an anti-drone intelligence wing. Punjab Police has bought anti-drone guns. Yet smugglers continue to escape.

Economics of the Drug Trade

• High Profits, Few Jobs: The trade survives crackdowns because it pays well. A gram of chitta sells for ₹1,000–5,000. One trip as a drug carrier can earn about ₹1 lakh. This matters in a state where jobs do not match the high aspirations of youth.
• Changing Social Values: Experts also point to changing social values, where wealth earned through illegal means is increasingly accepted.
• Nexus of Traffickers, Police and Politicians: An alleged nexus protects the trade. The 2013 arrest of DSP Jagdish Singh Bhola in a large drug racket exposed this link. He was convicted in 2019.
• Growing Role of Women
  • Arrests of women under the NDPS Act rose 85% in 2022 compared with 2015.
  • Traffickers use women because they are less likely to be frisked and can carry drugs on buses.
  • Entire families are often drawn in. Many women addicts become peddlers to fund their own addiction.

Policy Responses Over the Years

• Since the then government declared a “war on drugs” in 2014, Punjab has followed the EDP approach — Enforcement, De-addiction and Prevention.
  • Introduced dope tests for arms licences and new government recruitment.
  • Focused on catching big traffickers while running large-scale awareness campaigns.
  • Yudh Nasheyan Virudh (March 2025): Targeted traffickers’ finances and demolished houses built with drug money.
  • Phase 2 (2026): Shifted to community action, deploying over 1.5 lakh village volunteers (“Pind De Pehredar”).
• Despite these efforts, drugs remain easily available. Experts argue the EDP model has the wrong priorities. They believe prevention and rehabilitation should come before enforcement, not after it.

Conclusion

Punjab’s drug crisis is rooted in history, geography and economic distress. Enforcement alone has failed to curb it. A lasting solution needs stronger regulation of pharma drugs, better border technology, breaking the trafficker-police-politician nexus, youth employment, and greater focus on prevention and rehabilitation.