Chandigarh: A new study by AIIMS has found that opioids worth £750 million were consumed in Punjab annually, of which, heroin's share is a whopping £650 million. The news comes as shocking as almost all the heroin that comes to the state is through the Pakistan border, supplied by smugglers allegedly aided by the ISI.
Security agencies have so far insisted that Pakistani heroin is not consumed in Punjab; it merely passes through to bigger cities like Delhi. But this first of its kind survey by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) at AIIMS has effectively put an end to the myth. The study covering 10 districts says in a population of around 2.77 crore people, there are more than 1.23 lakh heroin-dependent people.
Previous studies conducted in several districts of Punjab had shown widespread use of synthetic or pharmaceutical-opiod drugs. The survey reveals that opioid-dependent people are spending approximately £20 million daily on these drugs.
Based on the previous studies, Punjab's opioid dependants are four times more than the global average. In effect, not only are the drug smugglers being used to push jihadis into India, they are also creating an army of drug addicts in Punjab.
