Chandigarh/Milpitas ( California): North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) Executive Director Satnam Singh Chahal today expressed deep concern over the alarming figures on drug use in Punjab cited in a Parliamentary Standing Committee report, saying the reported scale of the crisis should force both the Punjab and Union governments to treat drug abuse as a full-scale public health, social and national emergency rather than an election-time political issue.
Chahal said that according to the figures cited from the Parliamentary Standing Committee report, Punjab has around 66 lakh drug users, while approximately 30.68 lakh people were reported as cannabis users, 21.36 lakh as opioid users and 9.93 lakh as users of sedatives or narcotic pills. Even more disturbing, he said, is the reported estimate of nearly 6.97 lakh children between the ages of 10 and 17 using drugs.
“These numbers should shake the conscience of every political leader in Punjab. We are not talking about a small social problem anymore. We are talking about the possible destruction of an entire generation. If these figures are even close to reality, Punjab requires an emergency response of a scale never seen before,” Chahal said.He cautioned that the 66-lakh figure should be understood as an estimate of drug users across different categories and should not automatically be interpreted as 66 lakh people who are clinically addicted. However, he said that this distinction should not be used to minimise the seriousness of the crisis.
“Whether the actual number is 66 lakh, lower or higher, the message is unmistakable: Punjab has a massive substance-use problem, and the youngest generation is being exposed to it. The government cannot hide behind arguments over statistics while families continue to suffer,” Chahal said.Referring to research on opioid dependence in Punjab, Chahal said the evidence from scientific studies over the years has repeatedly demonstrated the serious scale of opioid dependence, particularly among young men.
“Punjab’s youth should be building businesses, pursuing education, joining the workforce and creating families. Instead, too many young people are being pulled into addiction. Every young person lost to drugs is not only a family tragedy; it is a loss to Punjab’s economy and future,” he said.Chahal called upon the Punjab government to immediately establish a Punjab Drug Emergency Mission involving health experts, law-enforcement agencies, psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, civil society organisations and representatives of affected families.
He demanded that the government publish a district-wise annual drug report containing verified data on drug users, treatment admissions, recoveries, relapses, overdose deaths, drug-related deaths, major traffickers arrested, convictions secured and assets seized from organised drug networks.“Punjab needs facts, not slogans. Every government claims to be fighting drugs, but the people have a right to know whether the number of new addicts is actually declining. Success cannot be measured by press conferences, raids or the arrest of small-time carriers. The real test is whether the supply networks and financiers behind the drug trade are being dismantled,” Chahal said.
He also urged the government to distinguish between drug traffickers who profit from addiction and people who are themselves suffering from addiction.“The trafficker who makes money by destroying young lives must face the strongest possible action under the law. But a young person suffering from addiction also needs professional treatment, rehabilitation, psychological support and an opportunity to return to a productive life. Punjab cannot arrest its way out of a public-health crisis,” he said.Chahal expressed particular concern over the reported number of children between 10 and 17 affected by drug use and called for an urgent statewide prevention programme in schools and colleges.
“If hundreds of thousands of children are being exposed to drugs, then we have already crossed the line from a drug problem to a generational emergency. Prevention must begin before the first drug reaches a child, not after addiction has already taken hold,” he said.NAPA also urged the Union Government to work closely with Punjab to strengthen intelligence-sharing, border interdiction, financial investigations and action against organised trafficking networks while ensuring that Punjab receives adequate resources for treatment and rehabilitation.“Punjab has paid an enormous price for the drug menace. Families have lost sons and daughters, parents have exhausted their savings, and communities have been scarred. The people of Punjab cannot afford another decade of promises and political blame games,” Chahal said.