Centre to employ drones to destroy cannabis crops

Drone

Kollam: The central government is all set to emulate the Kerala excise department's method of using drones to identify and destroy cannabis in the state.

Areas where cannabis are cultivated are identified using the help of satellites and then drones are employed to sprinkle chemicals to destroy them.

The Home Ministry has issued instructions in this regard to the Narcotic Control Bureau and all the state police chiefs.

Apart from Kerala, the weed is being widely grown in other states, including Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, and Himachal Pradesh.

The excise department had used drones to destroy cannabis farms in Palakkad and Idukki districts of Kerala.

Around 10,000 acres of cannabis were destroyed in the country during 2017-18, as per the statistics with the central government.

3.18 crore drug abusers!

About 2.8 per cent (3.18 crore) of the country's total population are regular users of drugs, found a study conducted by the Social Justice Ministry along with the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre and All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

After it was found that the money made from the sale/smuggling of drugs is being used even for terror activities, the Centre has decided to take more stringent measures to curb the menace.

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