"Drug abuse in India is as much a public-health and social problem as a law-and-order one." Examine this with reference to the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan.

Article 47 asks the State to prohibit drugs that harm health, except for medicinal use [1]. The NDDTC-AIIMS survey (2018) found over 7 crore Indians with substance use disorders [1]. A problem this large cannot be policed away. The Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) therefore treats it as a psycho-social-medical problem, while enforcement continues alongside it.

Public-health dimension

• A disease, not deviance: dependence needs screening, counselling and treatment. NAPDDR runs IRCAs, ODICs, CPLIs and DDACs, plus ATFs in Government hospitals [1].
• Rising treatment demand: people seeking treatment rose from 2.08 lakh (2020-21) to over 9.11 lakh (2025-26) [1]. That is still only about 1.3% of those affected.

Social dimension

• Vulnerable groups: about 1.2 crore children and 58 lakh women are affected [1], so the harm spreads to families and communities.
• Stigma and reintegration: NAPDDR aims to reduce discrimination. It works through Anganwadi and ASHA workers, PRIs and Nasha Mukti Mitr volunteers, which makes it a Jan Andolan that has reached 35.84 crore people [1].

Law-and-order dimension

• Supply side: the NCB and the MANAS (1933) helpline target trafficking [1].
• NDPS Act, 1985: Section 27 makes consumption a crime. Section 64A protects only addicts who volunteer for treatment [2].
• Coordination: three-tier State, District and Block committees, suggested at the 9th NCORD Apex meeting, link the Home and Social Justice Ministries [1].

Gaps in NMBA's balance

• Patient or offender: fear of prosecution stops users from coming forward [2].
• Reach is not recovery: 35.84 crore counts contact with the campaign, not people who quit [1].
• Thin funding: Rs. 333 crore for NAPDDR (2026-27) is under Rs. 50 per affected person [1].
• Data deficit: district-level estimates come only with the 2027 survey [1].

Drug abuse therefore sits where health, society and security meet. NMBA is right to pair demand reduction with the NCB's supply control. The NAPDDR roadmap ran only up to 2025 [3]. The next plan should use the 2027 district data, measure outcomes through the MIS, and send first-time users to treatment under Section 64A before any charge. This would bring the law in line with Article 47's welfare intent and SDG 3.5 on preventing and treating substance abuse.