With peddlers dealing in drugs in small quantities to escape the stringent provisions of the NDPS Act, narcotics continue to be available on college campuses across the city. Colleges have a great responsibility to keep their campuses free of drugs, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy said in Mangaluru on Thursday.

Speaking at a programme on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking at Kudmul Rangarao Town Hall, Mr. Reddy said the number of students testing positive for drug consumption during campus screenings had come down compared with the past.

“This shows that drugs continue to be available on campuses. Colleges have a greater responsibility in fighting against drug abuse,” he said. He regretted that some institutions and parents still resisted drug testing of students.

Students, he said, should say no to drugs and report drug abuse to the police by scanning QR codes available on the Mangaluru City Police’s social media accounts. Parents should keep a close watch on the behaviour and marks of their wards. “If there is any deviation, they should report it to the institution or to the police. Small incremental steps by students, parents and institutions will make campuses free from drugs in another two years,” Mr. Reddy said.

Every week, the city police receive 20 reports of drug abuse through QR codes, of which 10 lead to FIRs. About 20 parents have approached him and shown drugs consumed by their children, the Commissioner said. While helping young people get off drugs, the city police have also succeeded in arresting drug peddlers. On Thursday, as many as five drug peddlers were arrested.

On to the trend of peddlers dealing in small quantities of drugs, Mr. Reddy pointed out that under a provision of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, a drug peddler found guilty of supplying narcotics to a minor can be imprisoned for up to seven years. “We are booking peddlers under this provision,” he said.

In the last one year, the city police have booked 400 drug peddlers. As many as 2,000 drug consumers were found, and cases were registered only against those found to have acute addiction. In the last three months, around 100 people who had tested positive for drug consumption last year were tested again, and only 10 per cent of them were found positive, he said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police H.V. Darshan lauded the efforts of Mr. Reddy and other Mangaluru City Police officers for taking the fight against drugs to a new level. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) H.N. Mithun also spoke at the event.