NDPS Act 1985 & NDPS Act Punishment

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, also known as the NDPS Act, is an Act of the Parliament of India that prohibits anyone from manufacturing/cultivating, possessing, selling, purchasing, transporting, storing, and/or consuming any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance. On August 23, 1985, the bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The NDPS Act 1985 was enacted by both Houses of Parliament, gained presidential assent from then-President Giani Zail Singh on September 16, 1985, and went into effect on November 14, 1985. Since then, the NDPS Act has been revised three times: in 1988, 2001, and 2014. The Act applies to all Indian citizens living outside of India, as well as all personnel aboard ships and aircraft registered in India.

The Narcotics Control Bureau was established by the statute, and it went into operation in March 1986. The purpose of the Act is to meet India's treaty commitments under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

Until 1985, India had no narcotics legislation. Cannabis smoking has been known in India since at least 2000 BC, and it is first described in the Atharvaveda, which dates back a few hundred years. The Indian Hemp Medications Commission, an Indo-British study of cannabis use in India established in 1893, discovered that "moderate" use of hemp drugs was "practically attended by no bad results at all," "produces no adverse effects on the intellect," and "causes no moral hurt whatever."

 Concerning "extreme" drug use, the Commission stated that it "may undoubtedly be acknowledged as very damaging, but it must be admitted that the injury is not clearly evident in many excessive consumers." The Commission's report was at least 3,281 pages long, and it included testimony from over 1,200 "doctors, coolies, yogis, fakirs, heads of mental asylums, bhang peasants, tax collectors, smugglers, army officials, hemp dealers, ganja palace operators, and the clergy."

Until 1985, cannabis and its derivatives (marijuana, hashish/charas, and bhang) were legally sold in India, and recreational use was prevalent. Cannabis use was not considered as socially undesirable behavior, but rather as equivalent to alcohol use. Upper-class Indians viewed ganja and charas to be poor man's intoxicants, despite the fact that the elite used bhang at Holi. For Matters related to Narcotics and NDPS should hire a good lawyer in Gurgaon.

Following the passage of the Single Convention on Narcotic Narcotics in 1961, the United States began to fight for a global prohibition prohibiting all drugs. India, on the other hand, opposed the decision and had resisted American efforts to declare cannabis illegal for nearly 25 years. American pressure escalated in the 1980s, and in 1985, the Rajiv Gandhi government caved in and implemented the NDPS Act, which prohibited the use of all narcotic narcotics in India.

Anyone who violates the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act will face penalties based on the amount of the prohibited substance they possess.

• Where the contravention concerns a small amount, with rigorous imprisonment for a term of up to one year, or with a fine of up to $10,000 (US$140), or both.

• Where the contravention involves an amount less than a commercial quantity but higher than a small quantity, with harsh imprisonment for a term of up to ten years and a fine of up to one lakh rupees (US$1,400).

• When the breach concerns a commercial quantity, with rigorous imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 years but not less than 20 years, as well as a fine of not less than 1 lakh (US$1,400) but not less than 2 lakh (US$2,800).