Introduction

According to the UNODC World Drug Report 2024, the number of people using drugs has increased by 20 percent over the last decade.[1] This clearly exacerbates the need to strengthen the prevailing schemes and foster active societal involvement to counter the drug use menace. The Government of India launched the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction Scheme (hereinafter, the NAPDDR Scheme) in 2018 with an aim to address the ‘adverse consequences of drug abuse through a multi-pronged strategy involving education, de-addiction and rehabilitation of affected individuals and their families.’[2] The primary(first) goal of the scheme is to ‘reduce stigmatization of and discrimination against’ people using drugs.[3] This is in line with the vision of creating an inclusive society by encouraging drug users to come forward and seek right help. The name-calling or stigma attached to drug users hinders them to come forward and reinforces criminal behavior. This is substantiated by the Labelling Theory of criminology which shall be discussed in the next section.

Labelling Theory

Howard Becker introduced the Labelling Theory and the stigma attached to labels.[4] The theory posits that crime cannot be fully understood as an isolated act committed by an individual; it should, rather, be seen as a social construct where ‘labels’ are attached to certain acts and lead to an individual’s behavior which is shaped largely by the societal outlook towards his/her actions.[5]

Consider an example of a child who commits a minor mistake of taking the pencil of his friend because he liked it (normally, covered under the definition of ‘theft’ under law) and the teacher discovers it. There could be two possible ways to handle the situation. First, the teacher talks to the child and empathetically enquires about the incident, unearths the underlying causes and explains the consequences of the mistake. Second, the teacher calls him out in front of the entire classroom and scolds him explaining the consequences of his act. In the second scenario, the child became an example for others; thereby, creating a deterrent effect for other students. This results in the child being taunted and maybe, labelled as a ‘thief’. The minor delinquency is dramatized into a bigger evil, causing stigmatization. The child internalizes the ‘label’ attached to him and starts associating with people who are delinquents because his other peers start to isolate him. This, eventually, leads to his marginalization.

Just as the child’s minor mistake may be magnified by a ‘label’, individuals who use drugs can similarly be branded with the label of ‘drug addict’ and ‘criminal’. This stigma would isolate them and hinder their ability to seek help, thereby perpetuating the cycle of marginalization.

In the first scenario, the teacher went for a reformative approach with an empathetic or sensitized approach. A more supportive and understanding society encourages the delinquent to go for rehabilitation and seek right help when need arises. This is similarly true for drug users.

Removal of labels

One might argue against treating ‘criminal’ with empathy of any sort, but, here, it becomes necessary to distinguish between primary and secondary deviancy. Primary deviancy is where initial acts of deviance may be sporadic, like where the child took the pencil he liked or where the individual experimented with drugs. Secondary deviancy is where the person accepts the ‘label’ and starts acting in congruence with the label associated to him.[6] It would be unfair for the child, in the above example, or an experimental drug user to be pushed into secondary deviancy. In the case of drug use, the secondary deviancy can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy, where the user becomes entrenched in the label of ‘drug addict’ and continue to behave in a particular fashion.

The major role of applying labels falls on social control agents, like police, family, teachers or media. The ‘deviant career’ that a minor delinquent is pushed in after the application ‘label’ needs to be reconsidered. This argument runs in the same vein under the Labelling Theory and the NAPDDR Scheme.

Focusing on the stigma surrounding drug use, rather than addressing the root causes or targeting suppliers, will only push the users further into isolation and despair, thereby exacerbating their struggles. Without the right treatment and with the added fear of the stigma, drug users are pushed to continue to have drugs. The NAPDDR scheme has the Actionable Point 1.1 for awareness generation programs with a goal of reducing stigmatization of children.[7] It is contended by the author that this should be reoriented strategically towards reducing stigma, in general, among the society towards drug users.

The International Classification of Diseases of World Health organization categorizes disorders related to substance use as mental and behavioral disorders and, similarly, in India, the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 Section 2(s) defines mental illness, inter alia, as ‘mental conditions associated with abuse of drugs.[8] Since abuse of drugs has not been defined anywhere, it can be safe to say that it means personal consumption of drugs. Thus, a medical condition where drug dependence, even if it were a mere psychological one, should not press the stigma on the individual drug user. It, then, becomes imperative that correct knowledge and information is disseminated among people so as to shun the stigmatizing labels attached to drug users.

Conclusion and Suggestions

Following suggestions are made based on the above analysis: 1. Avoid use of terms such as “drug abuse” and “drug addict”, as it carries a negative connotation; instead, use terms such as “drug use” and “drug user”.
2. When the media reports drug use cases among celebrities, the focus should also be on celebrity cases who have successfully overcome drug use. This, in a way, creates ripples of hope for active drug users.
3. Government and NGOs should focus, inter alia its other functions, on generating awareness about drug use being an element of ‘mental illness’ that can be easily tackled by resorting to right measures.
4. The Navchetna Model used for school students may act as a preliminary guide for generating awareness as it covers some pointers for training teachers towards awareness generation related to stigma associated with drug use.

It is suggested that these could be employed to create a better strategic approach to tackle drug use.

[1] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, India: Presentation of Key Findings from UNODC’s World Drug Report 2024 to Mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, UNODC South Asia (June 27, 2024), https://www.unodc.org/southasia//frontpage/2024/June/india_-presentation-of-key-findings-from-unodcs-world-drug-report-2024-to-mark-the-international-day-against-drug-abuse-and-illicit-trafficking.html.
[2] Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Implementation Framework of national Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, https://socialjustice.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/Scheme_for_NAPDDR.pdf (last visted June 2, 2025).
[3] Howard S. Becker, Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance (Free Press 1963).
[4] Frank Tannenbaum, Crime and Community (Columbia University Press 1938).
[5] John I. Kitsuse, Societal Reaction to Deviant Behaviour: Problems of Theory and Method, 9 Social Problems 247 (1962).
[6] Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Implementation Framework of national Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction, supra note 2.
[7] Addiction Psychiatry Society of India, Suggestions for Changes in the NDPS Act, 1985 (October, 2021) https://addictionpsychiatry.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/17/APSI%20-%20Discussion%20Paper%20-%20Amendment%20NDPS%20Act.pdf.