High hopes: Punjab's Swaraj Party wants to decriminalise opium & cannabis
The Party also wants the government to take over the liquor retail business in the state
Saturday, July 2, 2016
The Swaraj Party has advocated decriminalisation of organic drugs, such as poppy husk, opium and cannabis, by bringing out a suitable amendment in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Party president Prof. Manjit Singh says: "When organic drugs were brought under the purview of the act, their rates increased enormously in the black market." A group of experts feels that the time has come to shed the moralistic cloud surrounding the subject, and demystify it through a modern and scientific approach, with the age-old empiricism of the past.