Increasing Drug abuse has been a major concern across the world. The United Nations (UN) “World Drug Report 2024” found that the number of people using drugs across the world has reached 292 million by 2022, marking a 20% increase over the last decade. In India, while the number of persons arrested under the NDPS Act increased from 74,620 in 2019 to 1,32,954 in 2023, the convictions remain very low.
Increasing Drug abuse has been a major concern across the world. The National Centre for Drug Abuse Prevention states “Drug (substance) abuse has become a worldwide menace. No part of the world is free from the curse of drug addiction. Drug abuse has emerged as a serious concern, adversely affecting the physical and socio-economic well-being of the country.” Concurring with this assessment, the United Nations (UN) “World Drug Report 2024” found that the number of people using drugs across the world has reached 292 million by 2022, marking a 20% increase over the last decade.
Drug abuse is on the rise in India too. Recently, the Supreme Court of India expressed dismay over the alarming rise of drug abuse among the youth of India. In another recent order, the Bombay High Court termed this as a “quasi-pandemic”
In this context, we look at the extent of drug abuse at the national and global level, the laws governing it in India, and the trends in the legal action against drug abuse. The data used in the story is primarily sourced from parliamentary questions and answers and is available on Dataful.
UN Report highlights increasing Drug abuse around the World
There is no official international or national definition of drug abuse. However, it is commonly understood as habitual or excessive use of a Drug or substance that alters the mind, body, or behaviour, leading to physical, psychological, or social harm.
As per the UN’s World Drug Report, Cannabis remains the most widely used drug with 228 million users, followed by opioids (60 million users), amphetamines (30 million users), cocaine (23 million users), and ecstasy (20 million users).
As a result, an estimated 64 million people are suffering from drug use disorders. Among these, only one in 7 men and one in 18 women, respectively, receive treatment for these disorders.
Highlighting these statistics, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) regional representative for South Asia said “The situation is serious. Our responses cannot wait and be disjointed.”
NCB identified 16 common drugs of abuse in India
In India, drug abuse is regulated by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985, passed under the UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs, together with other laws. The NDPS Act is the primary law which prohibits the production, manufacture, possession, sale, purchase, transport, warehousing, use, consumption, import, export, and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. For this purpose, it empowers authorities to seize property, conduct searches, and arrest offenders. It also prescribes strict punishments for drug abusers, ranging from fines to rigorous imprisonment, based on the quantity of drugs involved.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on its website has listed the following 16 types of common types of drugs of abuse in India.
| Drug name | Description |
| Ganja | It is the flowering and fruiting parts of the Cannabis Plant, which is the most commonly abused drug, consumed through means of smoking. It is also known as Marijuana, weed, greens etc. |
| Hashish/Hashish oil | It is prepared by compressing and processing parts of the cannabis plant. It is also called as Charas or Hash |
| Opium | A highly addictive non-synthetic narcotic drug which is the latex of the pod of the Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) plant |
| Morphine | A non-synthetic narcotic derived from opium, mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication) |
| Heroin | It is chemically known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine. It is synthesized from Opium and highly addictive |
| Codeine | Also derived from Opium. It is used in treating cough mainly. |
| Cocaine | It is extracted from the coca plant, and used as a strong addictive stimulant drug |
| Amphetamine | A stimulant drug which has severe adverse effects on human body |
| Methamphetamine | Usually a white powder that is smoked, snorted, or injected, which serves as a powerful stimulant, and is highly addictive. |
| MDMA | It belongs to a family of synthetic compounds related to the amphetamines. It acts as a stimulant and hallucinogen, producing an energizing effect, distortions in time and perception, and enhanced enjoyment of tactile experiences and adolescents and young adults get addicted to these drugs for the temporary effects |
| LSD | Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent hallucinogen that has a high potential for abuse |
| Mephedrone | Synthetic stimulant drug of the amphetamine and cathinone classes. It gives stimulant effects together with side effects. |
| Ketamine | A dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects |
| Tramadol | It is used primarily to treat mild to severe pain, both acute and chronic |
| Psilocybin & Psilocin | They are also known as Magic mushrooms, Mushrooms, Shrooms. |
| Benzodiazepines& Barbiturate class of drugs | Barbiturates are depressant drugs used to help sleep, relieve anxiety, muscle spasms, and prevent seizures. |
As of 2018, there are 1.18 crore children and adolescent drug users in India
Even though drug abuse is a serious issue with its very harmful effects, there is no considerable research, or studies examining the extent of this problem in India. It was only in 2019 that a first-ever survey was done together by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Persons from these institutes visited over 2 lakh households and interviewed over 4 lakh individuals in 186 districts of India.
Based on this report, the recent parliamentary reply dated 11 December 2024 provided the number of children and adults using different types of drugs in India.
Notably, a total of about 1.18 crore children and adolescents in the age group of 10 to 17 years use drugs. They make up 17% of the total estimated number of drug users in India. The report also estimated that a total of 7 crore adults in the age group of 18 to 75 years use drugs.
Apart from Alcohol, Cannabis is the most currently used drug in India
The 2019 survey report also examined the level of drug usage and addiction among drug users by categorizing the users into Current Use, Harmful Use, Dependence, and Quantum of Work. These terms in the report are defined as below:
Current Use: Current use of any substance is defined as use (even once) within the preceding 12 months. Unless specified, ‘Use’ refers to ‘current use’ in the results.
Harmful Use: It is defined as current use of the substance, along with scores on the WHO Alcohol, Smoking, Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) between 4 and 26 (for alcohol, between 11 and 26), and experiencing any harmful consequence of substance use within last three months.
Dependence: It is defined as current use of the substance along with scores on WHO ASSIST more than 26.
Quantum of Work: It combines the prevalence of Harmful use and Dependence, which are understood as categories of consumption in which the individual requires professional help. It also indicates substance use disorders.
Based on the above classification, the report provided a proportional population in the age group of 10 to 75 years who are in drug use and addiction. Alcohol had the highest proportion with 14.6%, 2.7%, and 5.2% of the population in the categories of Current Use, Dependence, and Quantum of Work. Cannabis follows it in current use with 2.83% population.
Between 2019 & 2023, over 60 lakh kilograms of illegal drugs worth 86 lakh crores were seized
The growing drug abuse in India is also evident in the number of cases of seizure of illegal drugs, their volume and their value. The recent parliamentary reply dated 3 February 2025 revealed that between 2019 & 2023, more than 3.75 lakh cases of illegal drug seizures were registered where over 60 lakh kilograms of illegal drugs worth over Rs. 86 thousand crores were seized. At ports, 17 cases were filed in which 5,093 kilograms of drugs worth Rs. 11,193 crores were seized. Most seizures were reported in the year 2021. Notably, ports share a miniscule share in the total cases, volume and value of drugs seized.
Between 2019 & 2023, Conviction rate in illegal drug cases is below 0.1%
As per the data provided by the government, the total number of persons arrested in India under the NDPS Act in 2019 was 74,620 which rose by 78% to 1,32,954 by 2023. However, despite the increasing number of cases, the conviction rate in these cases is alarmingly poor. The total number of cases that resulted in a conviction in the year 2019 was 89 which further fell in the years 2020, 2021 and 2022. In 2023, convictions were reported in 104 cases.
Though the number of cases registered, persons arrested, volume and value of illegal drugs seized have substantially increased, the conviction rate in these cases remains poor.
