Voices on Law

  Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 : The NDPS Act of 1985 is the leading law in India when it comes to narcotic drugs and other such substances. This law was brought into force with stringent provisions to regulate and prohibit the operations concerning substances such as coca leaf, cannabis (hemp), opium, poppy straw, and other manufactured drugs mentioned in Section-2 of the Act. [1] Before the enactment of the NDPS Act 1985, statutory control over narcotic drugs was exercised through Central and State legislations. Some of the prominent Central Acts were namely – the Opium Act of 1857, the Opium Act 1878, and the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930, etc. India is a signatory to the UN Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs 1961 [2] , the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971 [3] and the Convention on Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and   Psychotropic Substances, 1988 [4] which prescribe various forms of control aimed to achieve the dual objective of lim...