The killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa and the death of a 27-year-old man in Ludhiana after he allegedly consumed intoxicant capsules have brought renewed focus on the sale of habit-forming medicines through chemist shops. A new report on Punjab’s drug crisis points to the scale of pharmaceutical-drug seizures in the state, rising heroin seizures, an increase in juvenile cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and gaps in treatment coverage.Released earlier this month by PANJ Foundation, an independent, non-partisan policy research think tank based in Punjab, the report — State of Punjab: Data Story of 15 Years — draws on official data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), parliamentary replies and government records.Of the 5.13 crore pharmaceutical-drug units seized across India in 2024, Punjab accounted for 2.94 crore units, the report says. They include tablets, capsules, injections, cough syrup bottles and other medicinal preparations.The report also records that Punjab’s average annual heroin seizures increased from 829 kg in 2018–21 to 1,390 kg in 2022–24. Its share of national heroin seizures reached 47 per cent in 2023 and over 44 per cent in 2024.During the Punjab government’s 2025 anti-drug campaign, Yudh Nashian Virudh, police seized 1,714 kg of heroin. Using official Narcotics Control Bureau valuation benchmarks, PANJ estimated the haul’s value at Rs 3,428 crore. Heroin accounted for 94 per cent of the estimated value of all drugs seized during the campaign.The findings come against the backdrop of two recent incidents involving alleged pharmaceutical-drug sales. Jhota was shot dead on October 13 following a confrontation over the alleged sale of addictive medicines at a medical store in Mansa. In Ludhiana, Sahil Thakur, 27, died after allegedly consuming intoxicant capsules that his family said he had obtained from a medical store. Both incidents remain subject to investigation.1,113 overdose deaths in 11 yearsPunjab recorded 1,113 drug-overdose deaths between 2014 and 2024, accounting for 13.4 per cent of the national total of 8,290, despite having around 2.3 per cent of India’s population, the report says. The state ranked first among states and Union territories in recorded overdose deaths in 2015, 2016, 2022 and 2023, and second in 2014 and 2024.Story continues below this adThe annual average fell from 156 deaths in 2014-16 to 61 in 2017-21, before rising to 113 in 2022-24. PANJ cautions that the figures cover deaths registered by police as drug overdoses and may not capture the full extent of drug-related mortality.Juvenile NDPS cases riseCiting NCRB data, the report records an increase in juvenile cases under the NDPS Act, with the annual average rising from 19.4 in 2017-21 to 33 in 2022-24. Punjab accounted for 7.6 per cent of such cases nationally during 2022-24, against around 2.3 per cent of the country’s population.Of the 37 juvenile NDPS cases recorded in Punjab in 2024, 25 involved trafficking-related offences and 12 involved personal use. The state’s 25 trafficking-related cases accounted for 11.6 per cent of the national total that year.Treatment coverage remains limitedThe report flags a gap between the estimated number of people dependent on opioids in Punjab and the coverage of a central government treatment programme.Story continues below this adUnder the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR), Punjab recorded 11,603 beneficiaries in 2024-25, against 7,98,893 nationally, accounting for 1.5 per cent of the total.PANJ estimates that treatment under this programme reached about 3.5 per cent of Punjab’s estimated 3.3 lakh opioid-dependent population. It clarifies that this comparison covers only the central programme and does not include all treatment provided through government and private facilities.Funds released to Punjab under NAPDDR fell from Rs 11.71 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1.01 crore in 2022-23, before rising to Rs 2.96 crore in 2024-25.Convictions rise, so does case backlogAverage annual registrations of NDPS cases increased from about 10,500 in 2017-21 to 11,000 in 2022-24, the report says.Story continues below this adThe conviction rate rose from 64.8 per cent in 2019 to 82.7 per cent in 2023, while cases pending trial nearly doubled, from 23,671 to 45,962.Between 2022 and 2025, 21,625 of the 25,797 cases decided ended in conviction, translating into a conviction rate of 83.8 per cent. The figures show rising convictions alongside a growing backlog, although they do not, by themselves, establish the reasons for the increase in pending cases.Researchers flag pharmaceutical-drug supplyThe report examines the role of pharmaceutical opioids in Punjab’s drug crisis and the limits of using arrests and seizures alone to assess progress against drug abuse. Its authors cite the 2015 Punjab Opioid Dependence Survey, which found that 14 per cent of opioid-dependent respondents relied mainly on pharmaceutical opioids. They also point to enforcement action involving pregabalin formulations in 2024, when formulations worth around Rs 5.97 crore were seized from 72 premises, 12 licences were cancelled and 46 suspended. From February 2025, chemists were directed to report sales above prescribed thresholds for seven drugs, the authors said.The researchers said irregular sales of medicines could attract action under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act rather than the NDPS Act, depending on the circumstances. They called for stronger monitoring and follow-up to address illegal pharmaceutical-drug markets.Story continues below this ad“The purpose of our report is to highlight ground realities so policymakers and law enforcement agencies can work in the right direction for the betterment of society. Arrests alone do not establish whether drug supply has declined,” the authors said.The report has been sent to the Punjab government, said Deepratan Singh Khara, an assistant professor at the Thapar School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, and Anmol Rattan Singh, co-founder of PANJ. The report’s other authors are Harleen Gill, Sirjan Kaur and Agastya Shukla.The researchers said Jhota’s killing might not by itself establish a wider trend. However, they said, it underlined concerns about pharmaceutical-drug supply, enforcement outcomes, violence and gaps in treatment.Prof Kuldeep Singh, a retired Punjabi University professor who has read the report, said studies based on authentic data helped diagnose the state’s problems and identify possible solutions.Story continues below this adAAP chief spokesperson Neel Garg said such reports were useful both in highlighting the government’s work and identifying areas for improvement. “The government takes note of such studies and analyses their data. Authentic data also help counter misconceptions arising from what may be false propaganda against the government, which is doing a lot, but there is always scope for improvement,” he said.Several police officials contacted for their response did not comment on the report.