A day after Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu came out in support of legalising cultivation, sale and consumption of opium, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday said there was need for a national drug policy to fight the drug menace.
“A comprehensive formula was needed at the Central level to effectively check drug abuse,” said Capt. Amarinder, while welcoming the fact that the issue had taken centre stage due to the growing demand for opium cultivation by certain States.
‘Lucrative market’
“States like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were growing opium, for which they were finding a lucrative market in Punjab,” he pointed out, expressing angst at the ruination of his State’s young generation.
The Chief Minister said he had taken up the issue of a national drug policy with the Centre and also raised it in the Chief Ministers’ conference.
“A foolproof mechanism was needed to wipe out the scourge of drugs. One State growing drugs, especially opium, and another not doing so was leading to an unacceptable situation in the country,” he said.
Drug cultivation
The national policy could also address the need for cultivation of drugs needed for the pharmaceutical industry, Capt. Amarinder said and added that the Centre should involve States and experts while formulating such a policy.
Mr. Sidhu had on the sidelines of a function in Ludhiana said that he supported the demand for legalising cultivation, sale and consumption of opium in the State, raised by suspended Aam Aadmi Party MP Dharamvira Gandhi.
‘Opium is way better’
“It (opium) is way better than ‘chitta’ (heroin),” Mr. Sidhu had said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Gandhi said the Punjab government should prepare a strong case on the basis of the failed experiment of the UN-led ‘war on drugs’ and the recent steps in many countries, including advanced countries like Canada and the U.S., to lift the ban on marijuana, and present it before Centre for helping the State of Punjab in defeating drugs.