Chandigarh: An NGO has appealed to the Punjab govt to permit cultivation of poppy to save the state’s youth from the scourge of synthetic drugs . Addressing a news conference here on Sunday, NGO Insaf Team Punjab preisdent Jagmeet Singh Jagga said that the drug problem in Punjab was becoming increasingly serious, and that the government needed to take concrete steps to tackle it.




Jagga claimed that 35 to 50 young people die every day in Punjab due to drugs. “Drug injections, pills and other intoxicating substances are severely affecting the lives of young people. Effective steps are not being taken to stop the problem,” Jagga said.




He said the existing system should be reviewed and alternative policies be considered to address the drug problem. He presented his demand to the government regarding controlled opium-poppy cultivation and its availability. He claimed that a system for determining the opium quota had existed in the past as well, and that this issue needed to be considered again now.




Jagga said their outfit would hold a rally in Moga on Nov 15 to make people aware of the drug crisis.