MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT (SMT. SUBBULAKSHMI JAGADEESAN)
(a), (b) & (c) The Government of India in collaboration with the United Nations office of
Drugs and Crime have conducted a National Survey on Extent, Pattern and Trends of
Drug Abuse in India. The age group of the sample in this survey was between 12-60
years. As per the survey the prevalence of drug use in sample size of 8,587 within the
age group 12-18 years was as follows:
Cannabis 3.0% Opiates 0.1%
(d) School children often procure drugs from pushers and peddlers who frequent the
locality where the educational institutions are situated. Some of them also get their drugs
from their peers who are already into drug abuse.
(e) Students at the Secondary/Higher Secondary level are vulnerable to slipping into drug
abusing behaviour due to stress factors, peer influence, hormonal changes etc. It is felt
that educating them on the ill effects of drug abuse, through appropriate inputs in the
school curricula, can help reduce the numbers succumbing to this vice. The Ministry of
Social Justice & Empowerment as the nodal Ministry for prevention of alcoholism and
substance abuse is in dialogue with the Ministry of Human Resource Development for
including these inputs in the school curriculum. The Ministry also funds voluntary
organizations that are running awareness programmes in the area of drug abuse
prevention. These organizations cover schools and colleges under their outreach
programmes. Besides, as a measure of checking the peddling of the drugs to students the
sale of such substance in the vicinity of any school/educational institution attracts higher
than the minimum punishment for such offences.
