For decades, young people living in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab have struggled with drug use and addiction. Government estimates highlight nearly 700,000 young people (aged between 10 and 17) use drugs, of which the majority (around 350,000 use) consume opiates like poppy husk and or heroin.
Recent state efforts to educate children and young people about the harms of early drug use are a new tactic to controlling drug harms, working alongside the state’s crackdown on drug trafficking.
Punjab’s large drug market
Punjab lies on one end of the Golden Crescent area, a mountainous area of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan where opium has been cultivated for hundreds of years. Hundreds of kilos of various drugs and weapons are seized across the India-Pakistan border, with drones increasingly used to move drugs past frontiers.
As a result, it leads in national drug seizures: around 45% of all heroin seizures in India occur in Punjab, second only to New Delhi. It is also the state with the highest number of seized drug tablets (pharmaceutical and other illegal substances).
As a result, drug use has increased in the state: in 2022, 3 million people were estimated to use drugs in Punjab, representing around 15% of the population. It’s the state with the third highest number of drug-related arrests. Opiates, particularly in the form of “chitta” – a cheap form of heroin – is most commonly used. Recently, there has also been a rise in use of pregabalin amongst Punjab’s opioid consumers – a prescription drug mainly used to treat seizures or anxiety.
Youth addiction in Punjab is a long-standing concern; its growth is attributed to increased normalisation of drug use, economic struggles and lack of opportunities. In 2019, 69% of reported drug-related deaths were among those aged 18-30, many of whom began using drugs in their teens. In a 2012-2013 sample of Punjabi children who had used at least one substance aside from tobacco in the last year, 15.4% had injected drugs.
Ten years later, little changed: a 2023 report showed that 343,000 children aged 10-17 were taking opioid drugs including heroin, with a high prevalence of sedative and inhalant use too. Drug use among street-based children is also common in Punjab, with many using drugs to cope with their living situation.
New drug education curriculum
As part of the “Yudh Nashian De Virudh” (war against drugs) campaign launched earlier this year by Punjab’s Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab became the first state to launch an evidence-based anti-drug curriculum for students.
This new curriculum is part of the government’s three pronged anti-drug strategy: Enforcement, De-addiction and Prevention (EDP). It was implemented on 1 August in all government schools for students from classes 9 to 12 (ages 14 upward), covering 3,658 schools and over 750,000 students.
Students are taught the risks of drug consumption through a mix of engaging content, ranging from documentaries, quizzes, posters, and interactive activities. Focusing on myth-busting, refusal strategies and resisting peer pressure, this will aim to equip students with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions.
Harjot Singh Bains, Punjab’s School Education Minister stated that the “battle against drugs begins in the classroom, not at the police station”, a seeming endorsement for an education rather than punishment-led approach to reducing drug harms.
Developed alongside behavioural scientists, the curriculum was evaluated through randomised trials conducted in 78 government schools and 9,600 students across Amritsar and Tarn Taran in 2024–2025. The trials had encouraging outcomes in terms of informing student perceptions, with 90% of students in the intervention group recognising the risks associated with trying ‘chitta’, even just once. In comparison, only 69% of the control group recognised these risks. Other myths were challenged too, with 50% of students initially believing that addiction can be overcome by willpower alone, which dropped to 20% after the curriculum trial, enhancing understanding about treatment options.
Following a pilot study by the Centre for Effective Global Action (CEGA), it was found that there are mistaken beliefs amongst many young people surrounding the nature of drugs and addiction. To combat this, CEGA collaborated with J-PAL South Asia, The Agency Fund and Punjab’s Government to develop and test the programme.
The success of the anti-drug curriculum is being monitored by CEGA researchers and the state of Punjab, hoping that the programme will influence youth decision-making.
Is enough being done to look out for Punjab’s youth?
TalkingDrugs spoke to Madeline Duhon, the Associate Director of Research and Policy at CEGA to hear more about the anti-drug curriculum and the desired outcome for young people.
“This programme specifically targets the mistaken beliefs that may lead youth to underestimate the risks associated with drug addiction and experiment with drugs. The drug prevention curriculum is designed to provide young people with information about experimentation, addiction, and the path to recovery – told from the perspective of recovering addicts sharing their experiences in an honest and relatable way – all to equip them to make good decisions about drug use, specifically heroin.”
“This preventative approach – in addition to helping youth avoid the harmful consequences of addiction – may also be more cost-effective, given the costs and challenges associated with treating addiction.”
In addition to its war against drugs campaign, the Punjab government is looking to roll out another de-addiction initiative named ‘Soorma’. This will recruit individuals who have overcome substance dependence as “community ambassadors” to guide others going through addiction using their lived experience.
While this potentially peer-led approach could be impactful, it should be supplemented with other evidence-based strategies. The purpose of the ambassadors should be to provide additional support for those struggling with addiction, rather than replacing well-maintained de-addiction services.
Ultimately, Punjab’s reform must look to further incorporate proactive and sustainable prevention strategies like the new school curriculum, rather than focusing too heavily on creating a “drug free Punjab” through violent methods. The campaign’s title being the “war against drugs” may send an unclear message as to whether care and support for those who need it is being prioritised, compared with the goal of eradicating drugs.
A step forward amid other backward policies?
While the curriculum certainly seems to be a step forward for Punjab by focusing on informing the next generation, the strategy as a whole is still largely focused on a hardline drug policy, seeking to create a “drug-free Punjab” in a region where its illegal economy and consumption is deeply entrenched.
1,900 government secondary schools across Punjab have installed steel drop boxes for students to anonymously disclose information about drug use or selling, inside and outside of school. There’s no information on how the state or police would act on this acquired information, which could lead to wrongful arrests or vengeful denunciations.
While improvements into drug education are welcome, other areas of drug policies are becoming more violent. A recently passed law eliminated bail options for those accused of possessing or trafficking “significant quantities” of drugs. Drug treatment capacity is improving, yet still lagging behind needs. Of the 199 “de-addiction” centres in Punjab, only 22 are publicly run, often understaffed and poorly maintained. The vast majority are privately run, operating without standardised treatment models, and often lacking a clinical understanding of addiction.
A January 2025 government investigation found out that pharmaceutical companies producing naloxone and buprenorphine were establishing private treatment clinics, selling medication to patients with massive markups. The investigation also found that doctors were under-reporting missing tablets, selling them illegally to fulfil wider demand.
High-quality solutions for people who are already struggling with addiction must be provided in addition to shaping the state’s next generation. To bring about serious change, nobody in Punjab can be overlooked.
