THE NARCOTIC DRUG

AND PSYCHOTROPIC
SUBSTANCE ACT, 1985
Introduction
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act,
1985, commonly referred to as the NDPS Act.
• Narcotic drug are those drug which induces sleep and
relief pain like morphine and psychotropic substances
are the substances which alters the function of brain.
• This act prohibits a person to
produce/manufacture/cultivate, possess, sell, purchase,
transport, store, and/or consume any narcotic drug or
psychotropic substance.
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
Bill, 1985 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23
August 1985. It was passed by both the Houses of
Parliament, received assent from then President
Giani Zail Singh on 16 September 1985, and came
into force on 14 November 1985.
• Before this act there were some acts as THE OPIUM
ACT,1857, THE OPIUM ACT 1878 and THE
DANGEROUS DRUG ACT 1930.
• Due to several amendments in these acts there is a
need of a different act which overcomes all the
flaws present in this law.
• NDPS act was also amended for 3 times in
1988,2001, and 2014.
• The Act extends to the whole of India and it applies
also to all Indian citizens outside India and to all
persons on ships and aircraft registered in India.
• In this act there are six chapters.
CHAPTER 1 - Preliminary
• The short title for the Act is the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. It extends to
the whole of India. It came into force after the
Central Government notified it in the Gazette of
India on 14 November 1985.
• Section 2 of the Act defines the various terms used in it,
unless the context otherwise requires.
• Some of them are as follows: -
• 1."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 a drink prepared there from;
• 2."cannabis plant" means any plant of the genus
cannabis.
• 3."coca derivative" means: (a) crude cocaine, that
is, any extract of coca leaf which can be used,
directly or indirectly, for the manufacture of
cocaine; (b) ecgonine and all the derivatives of
ecgonine from which it can be recovered; (c)
cocaine, that is, methyl ester of benzoyl-ecgonine
and its salts; and (d) all preparations containing
more than 0.1 per cent. of cocaine
• Etc
CHAPTER 2 -Authorities and
Officers
• This chapter basically deals with the officers which
can interfere this this act and the authorities that
the officers have to control and maintain this NDP's
act rules.
CHAPTER 3- Prohibition, Control
And Regulation
• This chapter deals with the rules and regulations of
this act, how the use of these drugs can be
controlled and how it is regulated.
CHAPTER 4: -Offences And
Penalties
• This chapter includes the punishment and fines
included in the act if someone disobeys the rule.
• In this the punishment or fines or both are given on
the basis of amount of illegal drugs found from
them.
CHAPTER 5: -Procedures
• This chapter involves the procedure for handling
the cases included in this.
CHAPTER -5A
• Include death penalties to the culprit.
1988 amendment
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
(Amendment) Act, 1988 (Act No. 2 of 1989)
received assent from then President Ramaswamy
Venkataraman on 8 January 1989.
2001 amendment
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
(Amendment) Act, 2001 (Act No. 9 of 2001)
received assent from then President K. R.
Narayanan on 9 May 2001.
2014 amendment
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Act, 2014
(Act No. 16 of 2014) amended the NDPS Act to relax restrictions placed by
the Act on Essential Narcotic Drugs (Morphine, Fentanyl and Methadone),
making them more accessible for use in pain relief and palliative
care.[19][20] The Amendment also contained measures to improve
treatment and care for people dependent on drugs, opened up the
processing of opium and concentrated poppy straw to the private sector,
and strengthened provisions related to the forfeiture of property of persons
arraigned on charges of drug trafficking. The Amendment also removed the
NDPS Act's imposition of a mandatory death sentence in case of a repeat
conviction for trafficking large quantities of drugs, giving courts the
discretion to use the alternative sentence of 30 years imprisonment for
repeat offences. However, the Amendment increased the punishment for
"small quantity" offences from a maximum of 6 months to 1 year
imprisonment.