If public awareness campaigns are indicators of messaging going hand-in-hand with policing, August 11, 2022, was a significant day in the Tamil Nadu police’s battle against ganja. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin administered a pledge against drug abuse to 74 lakh students simultaneously in educational institutions across the State. It is well known that killing demand is the best way to choke off supply.
The event was organised as part of ‘Enakku Vendaam’ (I don’t need it), a mass awareness programme organised by the Enforcement Bureau of the Tamil Nadu police, to sensitise youth to the dangers of drug abuse.
This massive awareness programme, involving students who are considered the most vulnerable to drug abuse, was followed up with the creation of 14,000 anti-drug clubs in schools/colleges. Thousands of students who became members of these clubs are involved in a variety of literary, cultural and other activities to sensitise members of the public to the dangers of drugs.
