Insights for Contemporary Drug Policy: A Historical Account of Opium Control in India and Pakistan

Article


Windle, J. 2012. Insights for Contemporary Drug Policy: A Historical Account of Opium Control in India and Pakistan. Asian Journal of Criminology. 7 (1), pp. 55-74.
AuthorsWindle, J.
Abstract

Opium, as a tradable commodity, has a long history in the Indian sub-continent. This article offers a history of the production and distribution of both licit and illicit opium from 1773 to the present day in order to explore the lessons that Indian and Pakistani experiences can offer to contemporary drug policy. Four insights for contemporary drug control policy are developed from the historical analysis: (1) Post-independence Pakistan and India illustrate the difficulties of controlling a regulated, licit, opium industry; (2) The relationship between Chinese and Indian opium production and exports may suggest that competition can be an effective impetus to production suppression; (3) Developmental approaches to reducing production can limit the damages caused by opium suppression; (4) Effective suppression requires alterations to institutional and structural conditions which facilitate production (i.e. reducing violent conflict, improving civil and criminal justice institutions efficiency or extending transport infrastructures).

KeywordsOpium; Heroin; Alternative development; Diversion; India; Pakistan
JournalAsian Journal of Criminology
Journal citation7 (1), pp. 55-74
ISSN1871-0131
1871-014X
Year2012
PublisherSpringer
Accepted author manuscript
License
CC BY-ND
Web address (URL)http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11417-011-9104-0
Publication dates
Print2012
Publication process dates
Deposited27 Jan 2014
Copyright informationThe final publication is available at link.springer.com
Permalink -

https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/86010

Download files

  • 167
    total views
  • 2380
    total downloads
  • 4
    views this month
  • 84
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Security trumps drug control: How securitization explains drug policy paradoxes in Thailand and Vietnam
Windle, J. 2016. Security trumps drug control: How securitization explains drug policy paradoxes in Thailand and Vietnam. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy. 23 (4), pp. 344-354. https://doi.org/10.3109/09687637.2016.1140720
Tuckers firm: a case study of British organised crime
Windle, J. 2013. Tuckers firm: a case study of British organised crime. Trends in Organized Crime. 16 (4), pp. 382-396.
How the East Influenced Drug Prohibition
Windle, J. 2013. How the East Influenced Drug Prohibition. The International History Review. 35 (5), pp. 1185-1199.
A Slow March from Social Evil to Harm Reduction: Drugs and Drug Policy in Vietnam
Windle, J. 2015. A Slow March from Social Evil to Harm Reduction: Drugs and Drug Policy in Vietnam. Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1515/jdpa-2015-0011
Preventing the diversion of Turkish opium
Windle, J. 2016. Preventing the diversion of Turkish opium. Security Journal. 29 (2), pp. 213-227. https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2013.8
‘It’s like working away for two weeks’: The harms associated with young drug dealers commuting from a saturated London drug market
Windle, J. and Briggs, Daniel 2015. ‘It’s like working away for two weeks’: The harms associated with young drug dealers commuting from a saturated London drug market. Crime Prevention and Community Safety. 17 (2), pp. 105-119.
Popping the Balloon Effect: Assessing Drug Law Enforcement in Terms of Displacement, Diffusion, and the Containment Hypothesis
Windle, J. and Farrell, Graham 2012. Popping the Balloon Effect: Assessing Drug Law Enforcement in Terms of Displacement, Diffusion, and the Containment Hypothesis. Substance Use & Misuse. 47 (8-9), pp. 868-876.
The suppression of illicit opium production in Viet Nam: an introductory narrative
Windle, J. 2012. The suppression of illicit opium production in Viet Nam: an introductory narrative. Crime, Law and Social Change. 57 (4), pp. 425-439.
Harms caused by China's 1906–17 opium suppression intervention
Windle, J. 2013. Harms caused by China's 1906–17 opium suppression intervention. International Journal of Drug Policy. 24 (5), pp. 498-505.
A very gradual suppression: A history of Turkish opium controls, 1933-1974
Windle, J. 2014. A very gradual suppression: A history of Turkish opium controls, 1933-1974. European Journal of Criminology. 11 (2), pp. 195-212.
Going solo: the social organisation of drug dealing within a London street gang
Windle, J. and Briggs, Daniel 2015. Going solo: the social organisation of drug dealing within a London street gang. Journal of Youth Studies. 18 (9), pp. 1170-1185.
Afghanistan, Narcotics and the International Criminal Court: From Port of Spain to Kabul, via Rome.
Windle, J. 2012. Afghanistan, Narcotics and the International Criminal Court: From Port of Spain to Kabul, via Rome. European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice. 20 (3), pp. 297-314.
Ominous Parallels and Optimistic Differences: Opium in China and Afghanistan
Windle, J. 2011. Ominous Parallels and Optimistic Differences: Opium in China and Afghanistan. Law, Crime and History. 1 (2), pp. 141-164.
Poppies for Medicine in Afghanistan: Lessons from India and Turkey
Windle, J. 2011. Poppies for Medicine in Afghanistan: Lessons from India and Turkey. Journal of Asian and African Studies. 46 (6), pp. 663-677. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909611417393