drugs in india

-m2-

There is another pretty good thread on the subject. In it cyberhippie corrects the error that I made (and is made in the article crvlvr quotes) about the automatic 10yrs of RI and that drug crimes non-bailable. Fortunately, that is no longer the case but it is still can be a very serious matter and not necessarily one that a small bribe will fix.

Smoking Pot in India: Smoking pot in India?

(sorry if I do *run on* in some of these old threads )

m2

crvlvr

India, like most other third world countries, is not effective in enforcing the laws. This is mainly due to lack of resources.

Take traffic laws for the example. If you speed in the US, you’ll eventually get caught. Drive around in India, you will see a lot of posted signs on speed limits. But you can speed all you want, and in some cities, run red lights and the cops will do nothing. But don't let this apparent "lawlessness " fool you into thinking that anything goes in India. If you get caught breaking traffic laws, the fine would be at the most a couple of hundred rupees -- not much of arisk. But, if you get charged with breaking drug laws you are risking severe punishment -- 10 years jail time.

A lot of IMers have commented, that prople do drugs in the open, in some cases right in front of cops. This is true. Even though drug laws are very specific, the cops may decide not to enforce them for three main reasons:

1. Booking you creates extra work for them
2. If you are a local and you have connection, he might even get into trouble for doing his job.
3. They might not believe in the laws

Lets assume a cop wakes up one mornig and decides he is going to bust some one on a drug charge. To a corrupt cop, a foreigner is more lucrative target. Foreign tourists probably don’t have connections and he can fleece them for a higher amount -- a couple of hundred $ or pounds, may not be much for you to pay to stay out of jail, and is tidy sum fior him.

What makes things worse (for drug users) is that a bribe may not always be an option. Anti-corruption squads in India are staying on top of corrupt cops and now it’s becoming more difficult for them to let people off once they are charged. Cops have to show some results.

Although the cops prefer to bust the dealers, when the pressure is on (typically after some media report or a drug related death) and he has to choose between busting you (the foreign tourist) and the dealers (who probably pays him off each month) he may very well chose to bust you.

Know the laws and related penalties before you go to India. Be selective in the laws to break. The penalities for some of them may not be worth it.

davey

What are we turning into come on people if this idiot wants to talk about obtaining drugs let her get her self into problems without this forums help, look at the media in Australia at the moment there has been a young girl in Bali for 7 months for having dope in her bag, she was facing a death penalty, lets give idiots like this one the information they deserve... nothing.

2cents

The thing is the chances of having an accident while riding a hired bike or scooter in a place like goa is usually higher than getting caught with banned drugs on you.You can find a few people in here whose loved ones were seriously injured or killed in bike accidents in India and who will advice against using one while travelling here.Yet a lot of people ignore the inherent risk involved in driving on potholed and often unpaved roads at night with stray pigs and dogs wandering all over the place.And these are people who rarely if ever use a two wheeler in their home country.
Its the same when it comes to personal use of marijuana,hash,opium etc.The horror stories of those who were caught by the police with drugs on them,although generally true, also shows how few in the numbers they are.Its the ones who abandons all caution and sees it as an easy means to make some money, that run afoul of the police or more likely the local dealers who doesn't condone competition in their area.

Watson

If you go to Anjuna or Vagator there will be no problems "scoring" from an Israeli! No offence to you guys though :-)

davey

Yeh go ,on do it, just think of all the nice meals and comfortable rooms you will get and at a great price

bijapuri

well . . . since you're going to do it anyway, I have no bandwidth to waste on ya, nor should anyone else.

__________________
Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.
Barack Obama

lookit me!!!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bijapuri/

Utube fuzzy logic:
http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=bijapuri&p =r

Hyderabadi

Besides all the very true and very sensisble points above, the cops do have targets to meet too. Like crvlvr said, the cop/s wake up one morning and decide to do a drug bust, or their 'Sahab' gets pissed off because 'his' sahab got pissed of with him about the drug booking numbers, that's the time you could get in some pretty deep s**t. No amount of bribe will help, it's their jobs they are bothered about this time. Even traffic cops have such 'targets' to meet and that's the day when the very same friendly cop who let you off for 10 bucks for not wearing your helmet turns extremely honest and duty conscious. And do remember, giving and taking bribe are punishable too.

I would think, that the thought of getting stuck in another country, India or elsewhere is quite a nightmarish thought.

Perhaps its a good idea to keep you lawyer informed of your plans too, just in case, since you seem to have already decided to do it any way!

passingby

I don't know what you guys are talking about... or what places are you visiting in India... or whomever you hang out with...
but when I went to India, everybody was smoking charras. charras is so easily accessible. I got offered to buy in almost every small town I went to.
In north of Goa, you will find some harder drugs. you don't even have to look hard enough. they are right in your face...

and how about that bang lassi everybody is talking about...? isn't that drugs?
even the Indians drink it from time to time.
so, what are you talking about drugs not being accessible... in India all the laws can be broken with some cash...
drugs are everywhere in India.

xealot

Davey: I agree that public forums probably aren't the best place to find out about drugs and that we should all be able to enjoy a holiday without them ... but comparing this to the Shapelle Corby case is a bit extreme. Jen wants to buy a little to smoke while away (something I as a regular smoker understand perfectly) she never said she was going to try and smuggle kilos of the stuff in.

__________________
Laziness is not a real word! It's most literal translation is "Differing Priorities"

Indiadancer

Why would you ever ask such a question on a public forum? Of course there are drugs in India. Of course they are illegal. This is all you need to know. If you really want them of course you will find them. And, duh, you are risking getting in trouble. What did you expect to learn that isn't common sense? This sort of stupididty leads me to say that perhaps you shouldn't kill anymore brain cells with illegal drugs and save the two you have left. (PS I am not anti-drug. Gosh knows I have enjoyed the ganj. My point is, why would you think this is an intelligent question for a travelers forum?)

machadinha

It's been touched on above but you really need to be aware of random drug busts in places like Goa especially. There are many foreigners in Indian jails who claim they had drugs planted on them during a bust, or had nothing on them period. It's usually just a method to bribe you; the going rate in the early nineties seemed to be US$50,-- and upwards and I'm sure it's increased. When a bribe is not negotiable (i.e. they need to meet their quota as described above) or you react in the wrong way or you don't have the money on you you're in deep shit.

Other than that dope of various sorts is readily available in many places and it's illegal and frowned upon by many (don't go advertising your interests all over the place). Having a little smoke once in a while is something else than carrying around a couple of ounces of course which I've seen plenty of people doing. I guess most people get away with it, the problem is never with what happens if no one notices you of course. If you're not actively looking for it you're bound to run into some locals (not to mention fellow tourists) every now and then who invite you to participate in their use, probably the safest way to go about it (if you feel comfortable with the company of course, being a woman alone having a smoke with a couple of youngsters would surely add to your "loose" image. Having a smoke with a bunch of tourists who don't know what they're doing -- well, you get the picture.)

I personally wouldn't risk a couple of years in an Asian jail under less than sanitary conditions for it; then again I gave up on the weed long ago + it's readily available and semi-legal where I live so maybe it's easy for me to say. (And I've used stuff here and there in Asia when the occasion presented itself and the situation seemed safe.) The thing is India still has this 1960's aura to many travellers where "anything went", well those days are long over. I've shared my room with people I met along the way who would fill up the place with grass and papers everywhere within seconds of settling in. Imagine my amusement at the prospect of getting busted for someone else's idiocy. So I don't know, be a little street-wise no matter what you do.

There's the famous bhang shops in some holy cities and bhang lassis in many places. If the lassi is openly sold I guess it's safe to drink it, you'll also have conveniently swallowed the evidence. Buying non-liquid goods at such places leaves you open to a policeman following you around to hassle you further down the street I'd say, although I really don't know what the legal implications at such places for a tourist might be. I wouldn't bet on your chances explaining in court that you bought legal opium though -- always assuming it doesn't take a month or three for you to be even led into court.

__________________
Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

Nick-H

I think this is true the world over, but that doesn't change government attitudes to it. Just maybe the British hard line is softening now, but there's a long way to go. I don't smoke, by the way: I just support the rights of others to do so (as long as the smoke doesn't come anywhere near me: choke, splutter, cough )

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Nick-H

In the newspapers the other day: cannabis being sold openly in a particular chennai veg market. The article was of the 'shock, horror, when will the police stop this menace' kind, so I don't suggest you come here looking for the place.

davey

I did not compare this matter with the Corby case I said, Look at the Corby case the meaning the problems that someone can get into for a bit of Hash, my point being that I dont think this forum should spend its time informing tourists who have the iq of a fence post the hows and how not too get dope. The next question shes going to ask is How do I wipe my arese and if I cant do it will someone help me.