What is the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act

INTRODUCTION

• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, commonly referred to as the NDPS Act, is an Act of the Parliament of India that prohibits a person from the production /manufacturing/cultivation, possession, sale, purchasing, transport, storage, and or consumption of any Narcotic drug or Psychotropic substances.
• The Narcotic Control Bureau was set up under the Act with effect from March 1986. The Act is designed to fulfill India’s treaty obligations under the single convention of Narcotic Drugs, Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

• Central Act likes Opium Act 1857, Dangerous Drugs Act 1930.
• This rule passed due to rectifying all the deficits in the above acts.
• It also provides a licensing system for central and state governments to regulate transportation, import, manufacture, sale, possession, etc., of Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• Prohibit control and regulate the operation relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• NDPS Act, as it is known popularly, is meant to face a significant social problem: drug trafficking (deal or trade).
• This is also one of the special acts that have come before the counts very frequently and have many conflicting judgments confusing the general public.

OBJECTIVES:

• Prohibit, control, and regulate the operation relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• It also provides a licensing system for central and state governments to regulate manufacture, cultivation, import, export, interstate traffic transportation, and sale of narcotic and psychotropic substances.
• To consolidate and amend the existing law relating to Narcotic Drugs.
• To make stringent provisions for control and regulation of operations relating to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
• To considerably enhance penalties, particularly for trafficking offenses.
• To make provisions for implementations of the International Convention relating to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances to which India is a party.

IMPORTANT POINTS:

• The central government has been empowered to amend the list of psychotropic substances.
• Power of central government and State government to permit, control, and regulate rules and regulations related to opium.
• Government opium factory located to Ghazipur and Neemuch.

DEFINITION:

1. Coca plant – It means the plant any species of the genus Erythroxylon.

Coca derivatives:

• Extract of coca leaf.
• Crude cocaine, that is, any extract of coca leaf that can be used directly or indirectly to manufacture cocaine.
• Ecgonine and all the derivatives of ecgonine from which it can be recovered.
• Cocaine is the methyl ester of benzoylecgonine and its salts.
• All preparation containing not more than 0.1% of cocaine.

1. Cannabis-

• Bhang: Leaves of plant Cannabis Sativa.
• Ganja: Flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (exclude seed or leaves when not accompanied by the tops).
• Charas: Separated resin, whether crude or purified, is obtained from the cannabis plant and includes concentrated preparation and resin, also known as hashish oil or liquid hashish.

1. Opium – Coagulated juice of the opium poppy but does not include any preparation containing not more than 0.2% of morphine.

Opium derivatives:

• Medicinal opium
• Prepared opium
• Phenanthrene alkaloids, namely morphine, codeine, thebaine, and their salts.
• Diacetylmorphine, heroin, and it's salt.
• All preparation containing more than 0.2% of morphine or containing any diacetylmorphine.
• Poppy straw means all parts (except the seed) of the opium poppy.

“Opium Poppy” means the plant species Papaver somniferum L; and the plant of any other species of Papaver from which opium or any Phenanthrene alkaloid can be extracted.

1. Commercial quantity – About narcotic drug and psychotropic substance means any quantity lesser than the quantity specified by the central government.

1. Small quantity – About narcotic drug and psychotropic substance means any quantity lesser than the quantity specified by the central government.

PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCE:

It means any natural or synthetic substance or any sale or preparation of such substance or material included in the list of psychotropic substances specified in the schedule.          

Manufacture of psychotropic drugs:

• Morphine, thebaine, dihydro-morphine, codeine, dihydrocodeine,, and salts are manufactured at a government factory, Ghazipur.
• Manufacture of crude cocaine, cocaine salts, ecgonine, diacetylmorphine,, and its salt is prohibited.
• Manufacturing cocaine and its salt is prohibited, except cocaine hydrochloride,, which can be prepared from confiscated cocaine only.
• Medicinal hemp manufacture shall be under license issued by the chief excise authority of the state government.
• The manufacture of synthetic drugs is prohibited, except it is under the authorized license granted by the narcotic commissioner on government behalf.

AUTHORITIES AND OFFICERS:

1. Measures by Central Government.
2. Officer of Central Government.
3. Narcotics drugs and psychotropic substances consultative committee.
4. National fund for control of drug abuse.
5. Officer of State Government.

1. Measures by Central Government –

Central Government to take measures for preventing and combating abuse of and illicit in narcotic drugs etc. central government takes measure respect of the following matter:

• Coordination of actions by various officers, State Governments,, and other authorities.
• Assistance to the concerned authorities in foreign countries and concerned international organizations with a view of facilitating coordination and universal action for prevention and suppression of illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• Identification, treatment, education, after-care, rehabilitation,, and social reintegration of addicts.

1. Officers of central government –

Narcotics commissioner:

• Under the provision of this act, the central government may appoint Narcotic Commissioner and such other officers as it thinks fit.
• Narcotics Commissioner himself or with the help of other officers shall perform the functions relating to:
• The supervision of the cultivation of the opium poppy.
• Production of opium and
• Other functions may be entrusted to him by the Central Government.
• The State Government may appoint such officers as deemed fit for this Act.

1. Narcotics drugs and psychotropic substances consultative committee –

• Constituted for the efficient administration of this Act by the Central Government as an advisory committee.
• It consists of a Chairman and not more than 20 members.

Function: Advises the Central Government on the matters relating to the administration of this Act.

1. National fund for control of drug abuse –

• The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a Fund to be called the National Fund for Control of Drug Abuse, and there shall be credited.
• The Central Government shall apply the Fund to meet the expenditure incurred in connection with the measure taken for:
• Combating illicit traffic in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, or controlled substances.
• Controlling the abuse of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances Identifying, treating, rehabilitating addicts.
• Preventing drug abuse.
• Educating the public against drug abuse.

1. Officers of State Government –

• The state government may appoint such officers with such designations as it thinks fit this Act's purposes.
• The officers appointed under sub-section shall be subject to the general control and direction of the state government, or, if so directed by that government, also of any other authority or officer.

PROHIBITION CONTROL AND REGULATION:

1. Prohibition of certain operations –

• Cultivate any coca plant or gather any portion of coca plant; or
• Cultivate the opium poppy or any cannabis plant; or
• Produce, manufacture, possess, sell, purchase, transport, warehouse, use, consume, import inter-state, export inter-State, import into India, export from India, or tranship any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.

1. Prohibition of certain activity relating to property derived from offense, No shall be:

• Convert or transfer any property knowing that such property is derived from offense.
• Conceal or disguise the true nature, source, location, disposition derived from offense.