Legal awareness under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and its associated factors among patients with substance use disorder: A cross-sectional analytical study
Jyoti Barwa, Bharat Udey, Anshu Saini, Rattan Singh, Jagriti Bhatia, Jawahar Singh, Ajay KumarABSTRACT
Background:
Substance use disorder (SUD) carries significant legal implications under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 in India.
Objectives:
To assess awareness regarding legal provisions related to psychoactive substances and to identify factors associated with awareness among patients with SUD.
Methods:
A hospital-based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 96 adult patients diagnosed with SUD attending the psychiatry outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital. Participants were recruited using consecutive sampling. Sociodemographic and clinical details were collected using a semi-structured proforma. Legal awareness was assessed using a structured 10-item questionnaire developed and content validated for this study based on provisions of NDPS Act. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore factors independently associated with good/moderate legal awareness.
Results:
Overall, 79.2% of participants demonstrated poor awareness, while 20.8% had good/moderate awareness. Item-wise correct responses regarding procedural safeguards, rehabilitation provisions, quantity-based punishment, and bail restrictions ranged from 26.0% to 35.4%. Graduate-level education [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 22.76; 95% CI: 3.20–162.2;
Conclusion:
Legal awareness regarding the NDPS Act was poor among most treatment-seeking participants with SUD. Higher educational attainment and intention to quit were independently associated with better legal awareness.