Shashi Tharoor urges governments to target 'big guns' to combat drug menace

Shashi Tharoor said that this rising trend was not confined to the southern state alone

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said that incidents of drug use and deaths related to it are on a rise not only in Kerala but across India and suggested that authorities aim at the "big guns" to combat this menace and not ban everything, like pan masala, indiscriminately.

Tharoor, after launching a book -- Before It's Too Late -- by former Kerala Director General of Prisons Rishi Raj Singh, said that the number of cases registered in connection with drug use has tripled in the last three years in Kerala. The number of drug-related deaths has quadrupled in the state during the same period, he claimed.

The Congress MP said that this rising trend was not confined to the southern state alone and across India, there was a consistent increase in drug cases and related deaths.

He further said a clean sweeping ban on everything, like pan masala, was not the answer as it has resulted in creating an "allure" and a "challenge".

"If everything is banned, everything becomes contraband and a source of guilty pleasure. Pan masala is legal in most states in India but is banned in Kerala. Why? Why should we ban pan masala? If used in large amounts it can cause oral cancer, but that is something parents or a family can advise the children not to use," he said.

In many western countries, cannabis has been legalised for the reason that in small quantities it is not harmful and also acts as a pain reliever.

The Congress MP said here we are "banning things indiscriminately" which has made the task of law enforcement agencies to field out the illegalities an impossibility.

"Meanwhile, more and more dangerous drugs are coming to the market. Prescription drugs are being sold without prescriptions and are being given to children. Chemically created drugs which inject far more toxins into children are also easily available. At least on these serious things there should be a much more serious crackdown," Tharoor added.

Tharoor also speculated whether in trying to tackle many things, were we "tackling nothing"?

"Should we be selective in shooting our bullets at the big guns, making sure we can aim at real targets? If we can focus our resources and police abilities on things which do more harm to children, we can combat the serious menace of drugs," he suggested.

Tharoor also suggested that extracurricular activities in schools should be given importance as that is where students develop their talents and turn into good human beings.

"Unfortunately, parents are forgetting that," he said.

He stressed the importance for children to take part in extracurricular activities in order to take away the constant pressure on them to perform well academically which causes tension and stress to them and is one of the reasons for turning to drugs.

The other reasons, according to the book, are the attraction associated with drug use, peer pressure, boredom-, etc, Tharoor said at the event.

He said that book by the retired IPS officer, who served as Transport Commissioner and Excise Commissioner in Kerala, was "a favour to society" as it indicates what the problems are.