Supply reduction
Also called: Drug supply reduction · Topic: Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Supply reduction is the part of drug policy that tries to cut how many drugs are available. It works through enforcement, meaning the use of police powers to make people obey the law. It also uses interdiction, which means catching drugs while they are being moved, before they reach users. The targets are the growing, making and trafficking (illegal trade) of drugs. In India its legal base is the penal part of the NDPS Act 1985, the part that sets out punishments. The main agency is the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It matters because drug control has two halves, and supply reduction is the security and law-and-order half.
Example
The NCB under the Home Ministry acts against trafficking networks under the NDPS Act 1985. This is supply reduction. The Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan was launched on 15 August 2020 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It is not supply reduction, because it works only on awareness and treatment. When fewer people want drugs, traffickers have a smaller market, so the two halves are meant to work together.
Don't confuse with
- Demand reduction: this lowers how much people want drugs, through prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. India's National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) and the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan come under the Social Justice Ministry. Supply reduction comes under the Home Ministry.