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Sikkim’s Alternative Model to Tackle Drug Abuse: An Analysis of the Sikkim Anti-Drugs Act, 2006

How a health-based approach to drug abuse has ushered a positive change in Sikkim


Context – Sikkim’s unique drug abuse problem 

Sikkim has been struggling with alcohol and drug abuse since the 1980s. Illicit use of pharmaceutical drugs stands at the core of Sikkim’s drug problem, which has been gripped by rampant misuse of prescription drugs like Nitrosun, cough syrups and Spasmo Proxyvon.  

Enactment of the Sikkim Anti-Drugs Act (SADA), 2006

As Sikkim’s drug problem worsened leading up to the early 2000s, it enacted the Sikkim Anti-Drugs Act, 2006 (SADA), with an intent to tackle its own distinctive problems with prescription drug use. SADA was enacted to deal with increasing abuse of medicinal preparations and its provisions mirrored those of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act). It continued to operate within a purely deterrence-based model through criminalising illicit drug use. 

Amendments to SADA in 2011 calling for stricter punishments 

Interestingly, SADA did not provide for imprisonment for illicit drug use and limited the penalty to a fine of Rs. 10,000. However, in 2011 SADA was amended to provide for stricter punishments and the fine for illicit drug use was increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000. 

This prompted sustained advocacy by the Sikkimese civil society, which drew attention to the futility of tackling addiction through criminalisation. Amendments to SADA that followed reflected an altered state policy towards drug use. 

An altered approach – 2017 amendment to SADA

Differentiating between peddlers & consumers: In 2017, SADA was amended to recognise the distinction between ‘peddlers’ and ‘consumers’. Anybody caught with small quantities of drugs was now categorised as a ‘consumer’ while those caught with larger quantities were categorised as ‘peddlers’. The recognition of this distinction enabled SADA to channelise Sikkim’s healthcare services to the most vulnerable drug users. 

Adopting a rehabilitative approach: Additionally, the amendment changed the scheme of punishments and rehabilitation, which now treated illicit drug users differently from sellers, manufacturers etc. The law made psychiatric evaluation of all illicit drug users compulsory,