Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985
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| Type | Act |
|---|---|
| Number | Act No. 61 of 1985 |
| Jurisdiction | India |
| Enacted by | Parliament of India |
| Adopted | 16 September 1985 (assent) |
| In force from | 14 November 1985 |
| Status | In force |
|---|---|
| Amended by | Acts 2 of 1989, 9 of 2001, 16 of 2014, 28 of 2016 and 48 of 2021 |
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (Act No. 61 of 1985) is the Indian statute governing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, among them cannabis. Parliament passed it in 1985 and the President assented to it on 16 September; the Central Government brought it into force from 14 November 1985.[1] It repealed the Opium Act, 1857, the Opium Act, 1878 and the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930.[2]
The Act defines "cannabis (hemp)" as charas, ganja and any mixture or drink made from them. The seeds and the leaves not accompanied by the flowering or fruiting tops fall outside the definition.[3] The Act does not name bhang, the leaf preparation.[4][5]: 225 No one may cultivate the cannabis plant except as the Act allows.[6] The state governments may license the cultivation of the plant and dealings in cannabis other than charas.[7] The Government may allow cultivation for fibre, seed or horticulture.[8] The Act has been amended by Acts of 1989, 2001, 2014, 2016 and 2021.[9]
Background and drafting
The Act replaced three colonial statutes: the Opium Acts of 1857 and 1878 and the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1930.[2] In its long title as enacted, the Act was "to consolidate and amend the law relating to narcotic drugs" and to make "stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances".[1] In the Act an "International Convention" means the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Protocol of 1972 amending it, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and any later drug convention that India ratifies or accedes to.[10] The government's National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances states that the Act was framed to take account of India's obligations under the three UN drug conventions and of article 47 of the Constitution.[11]: para. 2
The historian Utathya Chattopadhyaya, in Ganja Matters (2026), writes that the government had begun drafting the Act by December 1983. In his account Finance Minister V. P. Singh introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha in August 1985 and it passed both houses quickly with little debate, the opposition questioning only procedure. He places the drafting against reports of heroin and cocaine circulating in Indian cities, increased opium production in South-East Asia and Afghanistan and narcotics diplomacy between India and the United States under Ronald Reagan.[5]: 226
Cannabis in the text
Definitions
Section 2 defines the plant and the drug:[3]
- "cannabis (hemp)" means "(a) charas, that is, the separated resin, in whatever form, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant and also includes concentrated preparation and resin known as hashish oil or liquid hashish; (b) ganja, that is, the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops), by whatever name they may be known or designated; and (c) any mixture, with or without any neutral material, of any of the above forms of cannabis or any drink prepared therefrom".
- "cannabis plant" means "any plant of the genus cannabis".[10]
Cannabis (hemp) is a "narcotic drug". "Medicinal cannabis", also called medicinal hemp, means "any extract or tincture of cannabis (hemp)" and is a "manufactured drug". "Production" means the separation of opium, poppy straw, coca leaves or cannabis from the plants that yield them.[10] The Schedule's list of psychotropic substances includes the tetrahydrocannabinols and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol with their stereochemical variants.[12]
Leaves, seeds and bhang
The definition of ganja leaves out "the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops".[3] The Act does not name bhang.[4][5]: 225 The National Policy draws the consequence: bhang "is a preparation made from cannabis leaves" and, since it "is not made from cannabis resin or from flowering tops, it is not covered under the NDPS Act, 1985". The policy adds that many state governments permit its production and sale.[11]: para. 21
Indian High Courts have held that bhang falls outside the Act. Granting bail in 2022, the High Court of Karnataka held that the leaves and seeds are excluded from the definition of ganja and that nowhere in the Act is bhang referred to "as a prohibited drink or prohibited drug". It followed decisions of the Bombay High Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court that had acquitted defendants of possessing bhang.[4] In 2026 the High Court of Jharkhand set aside a conviction after the laboratory report called the seized material bhang, holding that "under N.D.P.S. Act, 'Bhang' is excluded".[13]
Prohibition and the ganja proviso
Section 8 forbids any person to cultivate the opium poppy or any cannabis plant or to produce, possess, sell, transport, use or consume any narcotic drug, "except for medical or scientific purposes" and as the Act and its rules provide.[6] A proviso defers part of the ban. The prohibition of cultivating the cannabis plant "for the production of ganja" and of dealing in ganja "for any purpose other than medical and scientific purpose" takes effect "only from the date which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf".[6]
Section 27 makes consumption a separate offence. It punishes the consumption of cocaine, morphine, diacetylmorphine and any drug the Central Government notifies with up to a year's rigorous imprisonment. Consumption of any other narcotic drug or psychotropic substance carries up to six months' imprisonment, a fine of up to ten thousand rupees or both.[14]
State powers over cannabis
Section 9 gives the Central Government rule-making power over coca, the opium poppy, opium, manufactured drugs and psychotropic substances. It also covers import into India and export from India. Section 10 lets each state government, by rules, permit and regulate "the cultivation of any cannabis plant, production, manufacture, possession, transport, import inter-State, export inter-State, sale, purchase, consumption or use of cannabis (excluding charas)".[7] Those rules may fix limits within which licences for cannabis cultivation may be given, provide that "only the cultivators licenced by the prescribed authority of the State Government shall be authorised to engage in cultivation of any cannabis plant", require cultivators to deliver all their cannabis to state officers and fix the price paid to them.[15] A state makes its rules by notification in the Official Gazette and lays them before its legislature.[16]
Section 81 keeps in force any state law or rule that adds a restriction or punishment to those of the Act, or sets a heavier one, "for the cultivation of cannabis plant or consumption of, or traffic in, any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance within India".[17]
Fibre, seed and horticulture
Section 14 reads: "Notwithstanding anything contained in section 8, Government may, by general or special order and subject to such conditions as may be specified in such order, allow cultivation of any cannabis plant for industrial purposes only of obtaining fibre or seed or for horticultural purposes."[8] The National Policy notes that some countries license hemp varieties with very low THC content for fibre and biomass. Under section 14 it commits the Central Government to "encourage research and trials of cultivars of cannabis with low THC content", while following "a cautious, evidence-based approach" to cultivation for horticultural and industrial purposes.[11]: paras. 22–23
Offences and quantities
Section 20 punishes anyone who, against the Act, its rules or a licence, cultivates any cannabis plant or deals in cannabis. Cultivation carries rigorous imprisonment of up to ten years and a fine of up to one lakh rupees. For production, possession, sale, transport or use the penalty depends on the quantity:[18]
- a small quantity: rigorous imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to ten thousand rupees or both;
- more than a small quantity and less than a commercial quantity: up to ten years and a fine of up to one lakh rupees;
- a commercial quantity: ten to twenty years and a fine of one to two lakh rupees, which the court may exceed.
The Central Government fixes the two thresholds by notification.[10] Its notification of 19 October 2001 sets them at 1,000 grams and 20 kilograms for ganja and at 100 grams and 1 kilogram for "cannabis and cannabis resin" (charas and hashish, with extracts and tinctures of cannabis).[19]: 16–17, 19 The table of section 31A, which allows the death penalty for certain repeat offences, lists hashish at 20 kilograms.[20]
Every holder of land must report any cannabis plant illegally cultivated on it. Every government officer, panch, sarpanch and village officer must report land illegally cultivated with it. A magistrate or an empowered gazetted officer may order the attachment of a crop believed to be illegally cultivated, "including an order to destroy the crop".[21]
Amendment history
1989
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Act, 1989 (Act 2 of 1989) came into force on 29 May 1989. It added to the long title the forfeiture of property derived from illicit traffic and the aim "to implement the provisions of the International Conventions on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances".[1] It inserted a definition of "illicit traffic" that includes "cultivating the opium poppy or any cannabis plant" other than as the Act permits.[10] It also inserted the offence of financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders (section 27A), the death penalty for certain offences after a previous conviction (section 31A), the bar on suspending or commuting sentences (section 32A), new versions of the sections on special courts (section 36) and on offences being cognizable and non-bailable (section 37) and a chapter on the forfeiture of illegally acquired property (Chapter VA).[9]
Later amendments
The Act of 2001 (Act 9 of 2001, in force 2 October 2001) introduced the "small quantity" and "commercial quantity" definitions and substituted the punishment clauses of section 20.[18][9] The Act of 2014 (Act 16 of 2014, in force 1 May 2014) raised the maximum term for a small quantity from six months to one year. It replaced the words "shall be punishable with death" in section 31A with a punishment not less than that of section 31 "or with death".[20][9] A 2016 Act amended the provisions of Chapter VA on the appellate tribunal for forfeited property. The Act of 2021 (Act 48 of 2021) corrected a cross-reference in section 27A.[9]
Implementation
Central and state rules
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh's state rules are the Himachal Pradesh Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Rules, 1989.[22] By 9 June 2026 the state cabinet had approved amendments to them setting up a framework for the regulated cultivation, processing, manufacture, storage and transport of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes.[23] The Himachal Pradesh Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Rules, 2026 came into force on their publication in the state's e-Gazette (Rajpatra) on 23 July 2026.[22]
The Tribune reported that the amended rules allow cultivation only for medicinal and scientific purposes, from indigenous certified seed bought from authorised suppliers. Cultivation needs a contiguous holding of at least three acres (government departments, research institutions and universities excepted) and may take place only in enclosed settings such as greenhouses or polyhouses. A unit processing or manufacturing cannabis products needs a separate licence and a minimum capital investment of 100 crore rupees.[22] Outlook reported that the government "will identify the areas and fix adequate terms and conditions".[24] A further amendment, the Second Amendment Rules, 2026, notified by the State Taxes and Excise Department and reported in August 2026, cut the cultivation licence fee from three lakh to one lakh rupees per bigha. It requires a contiguous area of at least five bigha for commercial cultivation and a buy-back agreement with an authorised manufacturer before a cultivation licence is issued.[25]
National Policy
On cannabis, the Department of Revenue's National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances states that the state governments "have actually not been licencing cultivation of cannabis" and that cultivation "will not be permitted given its limited proven uses for medical purposes" except for research, including trials of varieties.[11]: para. 20 A licensed producer of bhang "shall be allowed to produce it from the leaves of the wildly grown cannabis plants only". Anyone found mixing flowering tops or resin into bhang is punishable under the Act.[11]: para. 21 Wild growth of cannabis "shall be destroyed as far as possible by the State Government officials empowered under the NDPS Act". Wild plants may be used for nothing except their leaves for bhang.[11]: para. 32
Effect on cultivation and traditional use
The sociologist Prasenjeet Tribhuvan (2018) writes that the Act "effectively criminalized cannabis and its products by declaring a gamut of activities, such as production, circulation, and consumption, illegal".[26]: 508 His fieldwork was in the Parvati Valley of Kullu district.[26]: 505 He reports that the police registered about 510 cases under the Act in the whole district in 2012 for charas possession or cultivation, 143 of them against local residents.[26]: 510
Chattopadhyaya argues that the exclusion of the leaves "strategically protected bhang from the axe of prohibition" and that since 1985 the central and state governments have "strengthened control of the circulation of leaves for bhang within state-licensed retail shops while severely policing ganja and charas".[5]: 227–228
Reception
Chattopadhyaya cites a Times of India editorial of 30 August 1985 that agreed the colonial drug laws were "hopelessly outdated" but objected that the new Act "treats narcotics as an undifferentiated category", without separating heroin from "softer, less addictive ones like ganja". The editorial questioned the heavy penalties on addicts and warned that putting on a person caught with a small quantity the burden of proving it was for personal use could lead to "gross abuse and police harassment".[5]: 226–227
In Chattopadhyaya's reading, the leaf exclusion lets the Act deal with bhang without naming it, placing cannabis leaves "in a gray zone of exception" governed "through a palpable absence in the letter of the law".[5]: 225 In his view the prohibition of the whole plant, with its caveat about leaves and seeds, shows how the Indian state answered international pressure on drug law "while tactically preserving, to a limited degree, regional cultures of Hindu cannabis use".[5]: 228
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, long title and section 1.India.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 82.India.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 2(iii).India.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Roshan Kumar Mishra v. State of Karnataka. High Court of Karnataka (26 August 2022). Criminal Petition No. 6611 of 2022.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Chattopadhyaya, Utathya (June 2026). Ganja Matters: Empire and the Pursuits of Cannabis in British India. Oakland: University of California Press. doi:10.1525/luminos.276. ISBN 9780520425699.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, sections 2(iii) and 8.India.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 10(1)(a)(iii).India.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 14.India.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, footnotes of the consolidated text (last update 3 January 2022).India.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 2.India.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Government of India, Department of Revenue. National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 16 October 2026 – via Central Bureau of Narcotics.
- ↑ The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, the Schedule.India.
- ↑ Sunil Kumar Singh v. State of Jharkhand. High Court of Jharkhand (30 June 2026). Criminal Appeal (S.J.) No. 726 of 2009; 2026:JHHC:19082.
- ↑ The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 27.India.
- ↑ The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 10(2).India.
- ↑ The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 78.India.
- ↑ The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 81.India.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 20.India.
- ↑ Government of India, Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) (19 October 2001). Notification S.O. 1055(E) (PDF) (Report). Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(ii), no. 773. Retrieved 16 October 2026 – via Central Bureau of Narcotics.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, section 31A.India.
- ↑ The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985(Act No. 61 of 1985), 1985, sections 46 to 48.India.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Chauhan, Pratibha (24 July 2026). "Himachal Pradesh opens door to controlled cannabis farming". The Tribune. Tribune News Service.
- ↑ Sourav, Saket (9 June 2026). "Himachal Pradesh approves regulated cannabis cultivation for medical use". LawStreet Journal.
- ↑ Sharma, Ashwani (27 August 2026). "InDepth: Implications of Himachal Pradesh legalising the controlled cultivation of cannabis". Outlook India.
- ↑ Bhandari, Rahul (25 August 2026). "Himachal Eases Cannabis Rules, Reduces Cultivation and Processing Licence Fees". The News Himachal.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Tribhuvan, Prasenjeet (2018). "Cannabis and Social Change in the Indian Himalayas". Journal of Ethnobiology. 38 (4): 504–516. doi:10.2993/0278-0771-38.4.504.