Hyderabad, June 26 -- This June 26 arrives with an unusual convergence. The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking falls this year on the same date as Muharram, which marks the beginning of the Islamic New Year, a time associated with both mourning and renewal. For those working on drug prevention in Hyderabad, the overlap feels fitting. The occasion asks for the same thing: let go of what is destroying you and begin again. It will not happen overnight. But beginnings need a date.

The Telangana government has some reason for quiet satisfaction. Stricter enforcement over the past two years has visibly rattled drug trafficking networks, with peddlers and their supply chains feeling the pressure. But enforcement, as ex...