Published on: February 20, 2014

Hurray!

We did it. India did it.

Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) has passed the amendment of the infamous Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of India, simplifying it to improve access to essential opioid medicines like morphine. The work of many of us since 1995 has borne fruit.

How can we thank enough Mr David Joranson and all at Pain and Policy Studies Group (PPSG) for all the support since 1995? Mr Diederik Lohman and Human Rights Watch? Ms Tripti Tandon and all at Lawyers’ Collective? And the numerous kind-hearted people all over India and abroad who came to help us?  Dr Mehanathan who worked on it and made it his subject for doctoral thesis, Mr Subba Rao who followed him and Mr Rajesh Nandan Srivastava who is in the chair of the Director of Narcotics now, who worked very hard at this?  Oh, we cannot name everyone; we are sure; there have been so many helping hands.

The bill has to be passed by Rajya Sabha (the upper house) also. We hope that will also happen immediately.

THANK YOU everyone, and congratulations all Indians.  You now have a chance of living without needless pain. And of living in a decent country where callousness is giving way to compassion.

One response to “We did it! India did it!!”

  1. Walter NAsarek says:

    that is GREAT new !!