There is a widespread demand in the Valley that Nasha Mukt Abhiyan, a transformative initiative, should not be restricted only to drugs or substance abuse. There is a groundswell of opinion that it be extended to consumption of alcohol also. The aggressive anti-drug campaigns, Nasha Mukt, stands in stark contrast to the state-facilitated expansion of alcohol consumption especially under central administration in 2018-19.

If a substance causes social harm, the response should be consistent based on that harm. Just because alcohol is legal, doesn’t make it any less harmful. Interestingly, while drinking alcohol is not prohibited and punishable by law, drunk driving is. Getting drunk is not a offence, but getting into a drunken brawl is!

But there is a history to this anomaly. It is not based on the moral codification of a society but by the Anglo-Saxon legal tradition. Alcohol production, taxation, and consumption have been protected by centuries of English customary law and royal charters. In this legal framework, adopted by India like all colonies, banning alcohol requires dismantling an ancient, foundational pillar of common liberty and commerce, including revenues to the government.

Conversely, drugs have no such historical legal precedents in Western law, making them easy to ban without disrupting traditional legal framework. Also, with drugs being barred, government uses it to expand its surveillance, policing, and incarceration. It strengthens control over the marginalized populations. In the current context, this is a key element in the narco-terror network of Kashmir.

Given the history, the “drug-and-alcohol” contradiction is not an easy one to resolve. From a government policy makers perspective, the focus must be on public health outcomes and individual autonomy. Of course, the political leadership of government may have purely religious or moralistic reasons, but those are personal. The public policy goal is minimising the physical, social, and economic damage caused by addiction.

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