India, May 12 -- The argument that social and economic factors outweigh the mere availability of substances-a point raised by psychiatrist Anirudh Kala in his book, Most of What You Know About Addiction Is Wrong-vindicates the rationale behind the Mothers Against Drugs campaign.

At present, Punjab is hyper-fixated on law enforcement as the primary solution to the drug pandemic. While the government boasts of arrest figures, the opposition clamours for an unattainable utopia. Both perspectives are skewed; a drug-free society isn't born in a vacuum of arrests, but through a balance of enforcement, education, and robust value systems. Most importantly, it requires an anti-drug narrative fuelled by a genuine people's movement.

By making mot...