Society needs to be protected from drug culture: HC

Drug culture is fast making inroads into the lives of the youth from all walks of life and needs to fully stopped to protect the society, the Delhi High Court has said, upholding a 15-year jail term to a trafficker.
"Drug abuse has revealed an alarming proportion in recent years. Drug culture is fast making inroads into the lives of the young people from all walks of life...," Justice P S Teji said.
The judge said this "need to be discouraged tooth and nail in order to organise the society and protect it from such major evil".
The court made the observation while upholding the 15- year jail term awarded to a man for trafficking four kgs of heroin from Pakistan to sell it to his customers in the national capital in 1999.

It also upheld the fine of Rs 1.5 lakh imposed on convict Mohammed Zahid, saying "no error or illegality is found in the view taken by the trial court and the judgment of conviction dated July 18, 2001 and order on sentence dated February 14, 2002."
Citing various Supreme Court case laws, Justice Teji said in a number of cases, the apex court has ordered taking of harsh steps to curb the rising drug cases, discourage peddlers and safeguard the youth against such evil.

"The consequences of illicit drug use are widespread, causing permanent physical and emotional damage to users and negatively impacting their families, co-workers, and many others with whom they have contact.

"Drug use negatively impacts a user's health, often leading to sickness and disease. In many cases, users die prematurely from drug overdoses or other drug-associated illnesses," it said.
The court further said that besides its negative impact on health and the fabric of society, drugs are also considered to be the "originator" of petty offences and heinous crimes like smuggling of arms and ammunition and money laundering.
Zahid had sought leniency from the high court on the ground that he was already convicted by a trial court in Amritsar in a separate case of drug smuggling for which he has already spent 12 years in jail there.

The court said large quantity of heroin was recovered at his instance, so harsh step has to be taken.
It said that with the growth and development of the world economy, drug traffickers are seamlessly trafficking various types of drugs from one corner to the other, ensuring availability of the contraband for vulnerable segment of the society who fell into their trap.
"There should be tough penalties against all those making profits from the drugs trade. Laws are in place to deal with drivers under the influence of drugs but there are no measures in place to detect them," it added.