India stands at a perilous crossroads in its struggle against drug abuse and illicit trafficking. Once perceived as a mere transit point between the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle, the two global narcotics epicentres, India is increasingly becoming a significant consumer and producer of illicit drugs, particularly synthetic substances. The recent escalation in drug seizures, youth addiction rates, cyber-enabled drug markets, and political inertia indicates not just a public health crisis but a deeper failure of social policy, enforcement coherence, and state capacity.
In 2024, Indian enforcement agencies seized drugs worth over Rs 25,330 crore, an alarming 55% jump from the previous year, as per data from the Press Information Bureau. These figures only scratch the surface of a problem that has seeped into urban neighbourhoods, rural hinterlands, elite educational institutions, and border villages. Synthetic drugs, especially methamphetamine and mephedrone, along with heroin and cannabis, dominate this illicit economy. Among the most notable seizures in the country last year were 80 quintals of methamphetamine, 1,426 kg of cocaine, and nearly 3,400 kg of mephedrone.
At the heart of this epidemic lies a brutal geography. India is sandwiched between the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand) and the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan), two of the world’s largest heroin-producing regions. The porous borders with Pakistan in Punjab and Gujarat, as well as the northeastern frontiers with Myanmar and Manipur, provide conduits for cross-border smuggling.
However, documented cases of internal collusion and corruption, such as Delhi Anti‑Narcotics Task Force officers taking bribes to halt arrests or a DSP inside Sangrur jail facilitating heroin smuggling via UPI‑linked family payments, demonstrate that these failures in enforcement have transformed India’s strategic location into a systemic vulnerability.
States like Punjab have long been in the headlines, but they are not alone. According to the AIIMS-backed National Survey on Substance Use in India (2019), over 2.06% of the Indian population, or more than two crore people, abuse opioids. Cannabis is used by 2.8% of the population, with states like Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi recording high prevalence. Disturbingly, more than 20 lakh people in India inject drugs, exposing themselves to additional risks of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C.
Kerala, a state not traditionally associated with narcotics, is witnessing a troubling rise in drug abuse, particularly among school and college students. The state’s Excise Department has intensified monitoring of over 1,000 vulnerable schools after repeated drug seizures near campuses, revealing that minors are often exploited as carriers.
Synthetic drugs like MDMA and LSD are increasingly prevalent among youth, with polysubstance abuse cases rising. The Kerala police’s Operation D-Hunt, launched in early 2024 to curb drug peddling in the state, arrested nearly 9,000 individuals, highlighting the scale of the problem.
Kerala’s rehabilitation infrastructure remains inadequate and underfunded. The state operates just 24 de-addiction centres under the central Social Justice scheme—far fewer than major states like UP (75) or Maharashtra (55). Vimukthi centres are typically small (10–15 beds), serve only short-term stays, and frequently lack timely funding. Meanwhile, dedicated inpatient facilities capable of six-month rehabilitation remain unestablished, and clinical psychologist posts in government hospitals remain severely limited (only 22 across the state).
This crisis underscores the urgent need for stronger enforcement, better rehabilitation facilities, and sustained community engagement to protect youth and curb the growing menace of substances.
Elsewhere, in Andhra Pradesh's Alluri Sitarama Raju district, authorities seized over 30,000 kilograms of ganja and 96 kg of hashish oil between January 2024 and May 2025. Nearly 1,100 peddlers were arrested across 380 NDPS cases, highlighting both the scale of operations and the local economy’s dependency on cannabis cultivation in the tribal belts.
In urban centres like Chennai, the drug menace has diversified. In 2025 alone, so far, 228 people were arrested across 110 cases involving narcotics, and six synthetic drug production rackets were busted. The Madras High Court recently flagged the emergence of ‘dark kitchens’ and local chemists being repurposed as distribution nodes for chemical drugs like LSD, ecstasy, and synthetic cannabinoids.
Despite such revelations, India’s legal and institutional response to the drug crisis remains sluggish and reactive, characterised by outdated legislation, inadequate implementation, and inter-ministerial inertia. The NDPS Act of 1985, a relic of the 'war on drugs' era, criminalises possession and consumption with harsh penalties. It fails to distinguish between a user and a trafficker, thereby overburdening the judicial system with petty possession cases and incarcerating addicts who should be in de-addiction centres.
Though the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment proposed decriminalising drug use for personal consumption in 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs has consistently maintained a zero-tolerance policy, missing an opportunity to pivot toward harm-reduction frameworks.
In stark contrast, Portugal decriminalised the personal use and possession of all drugs in 2001, shifting the approach from criminal prosecution to a public health model. The results have been widely regarded as positive: drug-related deaths dropped by over 70% in the years following decriminalisation, and new HIV infections among people who use drugs fell dramatically, aided by expanded access to harm-reduction services and treatment programmes.
Similarly, Canada and Switzerland have adopted progressive harm-reduction policies, including supervised injection sites and comprehensive medicalised addiction treatment, which have contributed to improved health outcomes and reduced overdose deaths.
India must seriously reconsider whether its current punitive deterrence is effective or simply pushes the problem underground. A more progressive strategy, including the legalisation and regulated use of cannabis, could reduce the burden on law enforcement and the judiciary, generate tax revenue, promote medical research, and support responsible consumption, while allowing greater focus on combating more harmful drugs and organised trafficking networks.
The rehabilitation ecosystem in India is deeply inadequate. If we take all districts, only a fraction have functional Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts (IRCAs). Most are under-resourced, lack trained psychologists, and are accessible only to urban populations. The 2022 report from the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) at AIIMS, titled “Magnitude of Substance Use in India,” highlights a significant treatment gap in the country.
According to the report, only about 25% of individuals who attempted to quit alcohol received any form of treatment. Even more concerning, among those with drug use disorders, only 5% ever received inpatient treatment or hospitalisation for assistance with drug-related issues. This underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive and accessible treatment infrastructure to address substance use disorders effectively.
Compounding this issue is the technological evolution of drug networks. Platforms on the dark web, encrypted messaging apps like Telegram, and cryptocurrencies have enabled a decentralised supply chain that skirts conventional surveillance. The 2021 arrest of a 26-year-old Bengaluru-based hacker, who used stolen bitcoins to buy MDMA from Europe and resell it in India, highlighted the limitations of current cyber forensics in tracking such activities. While the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has increased cyber-surveillance, its capacity is limited, and there is no clear legal mandate to proactively monitor darknet markets.
Political apathy and the normalisation of drugs in public discourse worsen the problem. In some cases, politicians have actively shielded local peddlers due to electoral considerations. Law enforcement crackdowns are often cyclical, prompted by media coverage or a high-profile incident, only to subside into complacency. Meanwhile, youth in border villages and slums fall into the drug economy either as victims or foot soldiers.
To effectively combat the drug crisis, India must adopt a five-pronged strategy. First, reform the NDPS Act to decriminalise small-quantity possession and prioritise treatment over incarceration, easing judicial burdens. Second, strengthen institutions by funding Integrated Rehabilitation Centres, integrating addiction care into public health systems, and encouraging private sector involvement.
Third, boost technological capabilities by creating cyber-narcotics units equipped with AI surveillance and blockchain tools to track online drug trafficking. Fourth, enhance coordination through joint task forces with neighbouring countries, intelligence agencies, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for intelligence sharing and legal cooperation.
Finally, expand public education by establishing a school of social work as a nodal agency in academic institutions at the district level and collaborating with families and civil society in awareness efforts. Integrate drug education into secondary curricula, especially in vulnerable areas.
India’s demographic dividend will be squandered if its youth are consumed by addiction and its institutions fail to respond. What we face is not just a crisis of narcotics but a crisis of governance. At stake is the health of the republic itself. Unless the state reimagines its approach, from criminalisation to compassion, from reactive raids to structural reform, this invisible epidemic will continue to hollow India from within.
Amal Chandra is an author, policy analyst, and columnist. Prof. Sony Kunjappan is the Head of the Department of Studies in Social Management, Central University of Gujarat. Views expressed here are the authors’ own.