Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) have numerous medicinal and scientific uses. The use of opium for medicinal purposes in India can be traced back as far back as 1000 AD where it finds mention in ancient texts such as “Dhanwantri Nighantu” as a cure for variety of ailments and diseases. The word Narcotic finds is origin from the Latin word narkōtikos, which simply means to make numb. However, the misuse and abuse of these NDPS, as an intoxicating agents by drug addicts and their subsequent trafficking by which it finds its way in society, have become a menace for law enforcement agencies world over. The enforcement of law relating to control and regulation of NDPS becomes more important as the rate of crime relating to NDPS has been growing at a rapid rate in recent years.
Laws Governing Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
The Constitution makers incorporated Article 47 of Constitution of India under the chapter ‘Directive Principles of State Policy’ which states that “The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties and, in particular, the state shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption, except for medicinal purposes, of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.“. In pursuance of Directives enshrined under the Constitution of India, the Government of India passed The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, Act, 1985. It is the principle legislation which comprehensively deals with matters relating to NDPS.
What are Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances?
The term Narcotic Drug as per Section 2(xiv), “means coca leaf, cannabis (hemp), opium, poppy straw and includes all manufactured drugs”. These are plant based and traditional. Whereas, the term Psychotropic Substance has been defined under Section 2(xxiii) as, “any substance, natural or synthetic, or any natural material or any salt or preparation of such substance or material included in the list of psychotropic substances specified in the Schedule”.
Some of the common NDPS, for which the Government has specified the Small and Commercial quantity has been listed below:
| S. No. | International Non-proprietary Name (INN) of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances | Small quantity (in gm.) | Commercial quantity (in gm./kg.) |
| 1. | Cannabis and Cannabis Resin (Charas, Hashish) | 100 gm. | 1 kg. |
| 2. | Ganja | 1000 gm. | 20 kg. |
| 3. | (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) LSD | 0.002 gm. | 0.1 gm. |
| 4. | Mescaline | 5 gm. | 100 gm. |
| 5. | Ecstasy | 0.5 gm. | 10 gm. |
| 6. | Opium | 25 gm. | 2.5 kg. |
| 7. | Morphine | 5 gm. | 250 gm. |
| 8. | Heroin | 5 gm. | 250 gm. |
| 9. | Amphetamine | 2 gm. | 50 gm. |
| 10. | Cocaine | 2 gm. | 100 gm. |
Activities punishable under the Act
The activities which constitute offence and attract penalties under the NDPS Act are broadly covered under the Section 2(viiib), i.e., illicit traffic which means:
- cultivating any coca plant or gathering any portion of coca plant
- cultivating the opium poppy or any cannabis plant
- engaging in the production, manufacture, possession, sale, purchase, transportation, warehousing, concealment, use or consumption, import inter-State, export inter-State, import into India, export from India or transhipment, of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances
- dealing in any activities in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances other than those referred to in sub-clauses (i) to (iii)
- handling or letting out any premises for the carrying on of any of the activities referred to in sub-clauses (i) to (iv)
Apart from these, it also includes:
- financing, directly or indirectly, any of the aforementioned activities
- abetting or conspiring in the furtherance of or in support of doing any of the aforementioned activities
- harbouring persons engaged in any of the afore-mentioned activities
Activities which are permitted under the Act or by any rule made under the Act or under license are not punishable. However, any activity in contravention of such permission, license is treated as an offence and is punishable.
Also, since the offences mentioned under this Act are considered as Crime against society, the Courts while dealing with cases relating to any offence under NDPS Act shall presume culpable mental state on part of the accused and it shall be upon the accused to prove that he/she had no such mental state.
Punishment and Bail in NDPS cases:
The Punishment for getting indulged in prohibited acts can range from rigorous imprisonment up to 1 year, or fine up to Rs. 10000, or both for less than small quantity of NDPS to rigorous imprisonment for minimum 10 years and maximum 20 years, and fine of min. Rs. 100000 to max. Rs. 200000. The Court also has the power to impose fine which is more than Rs. 200000 Lakhs.
Section 37 lays down the conditions of bail for an offence under the NDPS Act. It says that every offence punishable under this Act shall be cognizable meaning, Police Officer may arrest without warrant. Any offence involving commercial quantity of NDPS, the law is that the Court has to satisfy itself that there are reasonable grounds for believing that accused is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. Only after meeting this requirement, the bail can be granted but not before an opportunity has been given to Public Prosecutor to oppose it
